We're all Monsters
by Creaturemaster
Summary: Ben somehow arrives in a strange new place where people and actual monsters live along side each other. When he blends in with the student body at Monster High, things go horribly wrong! The girls all want him, the guys all want to beat him senseless, and some dark force seems to be conspiring against him. Can Ben ever get back home or will die trying? The first of its kind!
1. Meet the Monsters

**Okay, I thought I might as well give this a try. Behold! My first cross over with Ben 10 and Monster High! And as an added bonus, it's the first of its kind (I checked)! Don't worry, Monster High doesn't exist in the Ben 10 Universe and vise versa. They each have their own seperate universes, and give credit to those that made them as I have no creativity of my own to match them (Ain't I humble?). Please send me your comments and your reviews so I know if this story is worth writing or not.**

**If you're looking for a good Monster High story to read, might I suggest reading _The Abyss gazes Also _by Chromatoast?**

**If you're looking for a good Ben 10 story to read, might I suggest reading _The Slayer Chronicles _by Winter Coma?**

Something was off. That was what got Ben's attention as he slowly blinked his eyes and moaned.

First on his list of things that were off, was his splitting head ache. It felt like the planets of Khoros, Terradino, and Galvan Prime were battling each other to the death inside his on his imaginary list was the fact that he seemed to be in the middle of some dark place filled with fog and illuminated by the bright moon overhead. Ben moaned and stood up, wincing as he suddenly felt the stiffness of his limbs. He was in the middle of cracking his back when he noticed stranger objects jutting up from the ground all around him.

Tombstones.

Ben held back a yell of surprise and took in a deep breath of rank, cold night air. Where ever he was, being creepy was the name of the game. "Fortunately, I got a whole arsenal of creepy guys on my side." he said, turning on the Omnitrix that was still luckily on his wrist. He cycled through his list of aliens, by passing the ones like Ditto and Way Big that were relatively cute looking. When he finally got to his monster section, he randomly selected one and slapped the activation button. The familiar green light lit up the creepy surrounding, the light washing over the dusty tombstones. Ben's arms became more muscular, his legs stronger and longer. He soon became soon ripped that he lost his shirt, it being torn off his body and tossed away. His skin became patchwork, stitches holding random colored flesh together as the Omnitrix symbol appeared on his right pectoral. Metallic bolts sprouted up from his shoulders, wrists, and neck as thick black hair sprouted from his head and down to his chin, stopping. The final transformation was the sudden growth of two large conductor like coils, crackling with electricity.

"Frankenstrike, huh? Perfect!" he exclaimed as lightning flashed across the sky. He noticed a soft glow over in the distance. A town. "Better than standing out here in the middle of nowhere." he said to himself. He began his long walk toward the glowing lights, making his long trek through a seemingly endless forest of leafless trees that had gnarled branches twisted together as if they had long limbs reaching out at him. Glowing red eyes would peer out of their hollow like mouths at him, sometimes hissing or growling softly. Frankenstrike didn't flinch, but he was starting get a little concerned.

"Am I back on Anur Transyl? Is this just another prank pulled by Rad?" he asked himself, remembering the tough duck like pilot that had dumped out over the monster planet. That made him think of his friends and family back home. Were they worried? Were Rook, Gwen, and Kevin frantically looking for him, desperately searching for him in every corner of the galaxy? Was everyone worried about his disappearance? He at least knew his family would be in a panic. His friends would be worried about him. And his enemies, well, they would still be his enemies. Having a free day while he was gone. That soon led him to the second question that was itching in the back of his head; where was he? He couldn't have been on Anur Transyl, it looked too much like he was on Earth. Nothing said 'alien' about where he was. Wherever he was however, the Omnitrix could still receive its signal from Primus. At least that was a comforting thought.

He was so deep in thought he didn't even realize he had suddenly entered the town he had been walking to. It was any modern town he had see every day back in Bellwood, but something was off. He passed a large building that could have only been a place of business and amusement. A sign on a long post said "New Salem Maul". "Isn't that a bit misspelled?" he asked himself as he read the sign. He continued along, sticking to the sidewalks and noticed that the cars were a little different as well; some had small spikes on the hubcaps and edges, while others sported spider web patterns on their paint jobs and windshields. And the buildings were just as weird, with spider web windows and spikes on their roofs. He soon passed an incredibly large estate with what looked like an enormous Egyptian tomb as the main house. The fountain out front was large enough for the half a dozen crocodiles that swam about, shaded in the many date palms that swayed in the cool night breeze.

He soon found himself trudging along the sidewalk past several old mansions that looked like they were in serious need of some cleaning up. He passed another house with several holes in the yard, stray dog bones among piles of dirt. Another house seemed to be entirely comprised of the numerous doors that lined the exterior walls. Rain began to come pouring down from the sky in cold, wet sheets. Thunder rolled across the sky as lightning tore it in two. Frankenstrike shivered in the cold rain, wrapping his thick arms around him. "I need to find some shelter." he said to himself. He saw a grassy area with several trees surrounded by a wrought iron fence. "It'll do for now." he said quietly as he lumbered underneath an oak tree and propped himself up against it. He looked up at the night sky at the moon that was barely concealed by the dark gray clouds. "Miss you guys." he mumbled before sleep overcame him.

"Excuse me, young man? Young man?" a deep voice with a thick German accent rumbled. Frankenstrike/Ben moaned and blinked open his eyes to a large, box like head with two dark brown eyes and a large jaw line. A large stitch ran up to his left eye, and a pair of large bolts stuck out of his neck. "Young man? I would very much appreciate it if you could get off my petunias." the head said. Frankenstrike opened up his eyes and yawned and got up from the ground, and noticed he had indeed been sleeping in the man's flowerbed. "Sorry, sir. Is there any way to make it up to you?" he asked, before he noticed something odd. The man looked strikingly similar to him, with large, muscled arms covered with stitches much like his own. Thick black hair sat on his head, and he wore a pair of large black pants and boots with a white lab coat. The man was about to say more when the front door of the house Frankenstrike had just noticed burst open and a small, teenage girl came running out.

"Daddy! What have I told you about talking to people in your lab coat?" she scolded her father. Her father frowned, but then sighed before answering his daughter. "Only wear it in the lab, not on other businesses." The girl smiled and turned to Frankenstrike, her ruby red lips perked up in a smile. She had two large eyes, one green and the other blue. Long white hair with black streaks ran down to her mint skinned back, and a pair of bolts came out of her neck. She wore a plaid dress with a sort of netting at the edges, a black neck tie with a little skull wearing a bow. A pair of black and white striped pumps were on her feet, and several stitches could be seen on her arms and legs as well as her neck and face.

"Hi there! I'm Frankie." she said to him, taking his large hand in hers and shaking it. Frankenstrike quickly noticed that her father tensed up when she did that, relaxing when the two were apart once more. "I'm Frankenstrike." he said, deciding to go by his alien's name. He could almost guarantee that her last name would relate to what type of monster she seemed to be, similar to how he came up with his alien's names. "That's an odd name." Frankie said, shrugging lightly. "Oh, well. Are you new around here?" Frankenstrike nodded, and Frankie's smile grew bigger. "Are you a new student at Monster High?" she asked, with barely concealed excitement.

"I guess?" Frankenstrike tried, never actually hearing the name before. Frankie smiled again and took his hand. "Why don't you come inside for breakfast? I know we've just met and all, but I'd really like to get to know you better." Frankenstrike looked to Frankie's dad, who nodded stiffly, at least glad that the strange monster on his lawn asked for his permission first. "Sure. Why not?" he said in his thick, jolly sounding voice. Frankie practically squealed and raced into the house, with Frankenstrike being practically dragged with her. Frankie's father sighed and followed his daughter back into their Swiss Chalet like house. It did in fact look like a Normie house, but painted a dark blackish purple and with several odds and ends sticking up out of it that made it also look like a research lab too.

"Do you like Scary-Os or Frosted Fangs?" Frankie asked Frankenstrike as she browsed through the kitchen cupboards. The kitchen had a dark blue floorboard floor and dark purple ceilings. Black cupboards and marbled counters lined the walls, and a large dining table with four chairs sat in a corner surrounded by large windows that looked down into the yard below. The chairs were larger than normal chairs, most likely to occupy the inhabitants of the house, though Frankie didn't much different from a regular girl. "Uh, I'll go with Scary-Os." he decided as a small animal came scampering into the kitchen at the heels of a tall women with a tall black and white hair style similar to Frankie's.

"Morning, dear." she said to Frankie. Frankenstrike quickly assumed this to be Frankie's mother as she sleepily walked about the kitchen making herself breakfast. It was only when she noticed that Frankie was pouring 2 bowls of cereal did she see Frankenstrike eating at the table. Now, Viveka Stein was accustomed to Frankie bringing friends over for sleep overs, study groups, and the likes, and she was fine with that. Most of them were girls any way. Then there were the boys that would come over, and she became slightly more one edge, though she was significantly less worried when it was Deuce, Clawd, or Jason; something about Holt made her uneasy, but it was easy to get around when he played one of his songs, especially when he took a classical song and "jammed it up" a little bit. However, something about this boy made her motherly instincts suspicious, but she decided to not push the matter just yet. A look from Viktor when he walked into make himself a large stack of pancakes, and she knew he was just as suspicious as she was.

"So, Frankie? Who's your friend?" Viveka asked her daughter.

"Hmm? Oh, this is Frankenstrike. We found him on Dad's petunias." Frankie answered as she put the cereal box back in its cupboard.

Viveka raised an eyebrow at Viktor and he sighed. Another time for later.

"He's a new student at Monster High." Frankie added as she sat down next to Frankenstrike at the table.

"He is, is he?" said Viveka, sitting down at the table across from Frankie. A plate of Ghost Toast sat on a plate with raspberry jam on it. A mug coffee sat next to the plate, steam curling up from the black liquid. Viktor soon joined them with a big plate of pancakes slathered in syrup. He grabbed a fork, stabbed the stack and ripped off a large chunk before shoving it in his mouth.

Frankenstrike was about to try his cereal when he heard a panting sound. Looking down he saw a small animal similar to a dog. The things that only made it different was that it had a small pair of feathered wings, a row of spikes on its head, cat like fangs, and mismatched bits of fur stitched together with more stitches like the rest of the Stein family. "What is that?" he asked. Frankie turned to see what he was taking about and smiled. "That's Whatzit my pet . . . . something. I honestly don't know what he is, but his pet license is 10 pages long." Frankie answered, whistling for her pet to come over. The animal barked happily and scampered over to her, rubbing affectionately against her leg as she scratched behind his ear.

"So, uh, Mr. Stein?" Frankenstrike said, attempting to make conversation. The family had been very tolerable him when he suddenly appeared on their lawn and was brought into their house. They barely knew him, and he had said very little about him, or asked about the Steins themselves. "Did you make Whatzit by yourself?" The large monster paused from chewing on his pancakes before answering. "Indeed. I took body parts from different species and stitched them together to create our dear pet," Viktor answered, unfortunately forgetting he still had food in his mouth. "He has the brain of a dog, the spikes of a dragon, the eyes and fangs of a cat, the wings of a parrot, the fur of a monkey, the fins of a fish, and the appetite only matched by a goat. He unfortunately, likes to gnaw on my lap coats for some odd reason. Perhaps he finds the taste simply smashing." To further prove his point, Whatzit scurried over to him and began to playfully nibble on the end of his white lab coat, drawing another sigh out of the large – yet incredibly smart – monster.

"Frankie, dear? Do you mind?" he said, pointing down at the small animal. "What? Oh, sure!" Frankie said, getting up from the table and walking over to her pet. She leaned down and whispered something into his ear. Seconds later, he was running toward his doggie door out to the front lawn. "What'd you tell him?" Frankenstrike asked, eating a spoonful of Scary-Os. The cereal wasn't actually that. It was actually kind of similar to some of the food his mother had cooked, when she was in her 'health food' mode. Despite what most people thought, she was occasionally a good cook, though she wasn't exactly a kitchen wizard. "I just told him that if he could find me the largest bone he buried in the yard, I'd give him a treat." Frankie told him, returning to her seat. "He's got his own little private section of the yard out back where he can do that kind of thing."

"Yes, I am glad we added that," Viktor said as he finished off his pancakes. "Do you how much money I spent replanting my petunias?" Frankenstrike turned red with embarrassment. "Speaking of that, I'll, uh, help you replant them, if you want." he said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. Mr. Stein nodded and got up from his seat to deposit his plate in the dishwasher. "Frankenstrike, is it?" Viveka asked. "Where do you come from?" she asked, sipping her coffee lightly. Frankenstrike paused. What should he say? If he said he came from another dimension or another planet, they would think he was looney! And if he were to somehow be trapped where he was forever, he at least wanted some people who liked him. "I, uh, come from Bellwood." he said, his spoon clattering into his empty bowl. Viveka raised an eyebrow. "Bellwood? I have never heard of such a place." she said.

"That's because it's an incredibly small town in Nevada." Frankenstrike lied quickly. While Bellwood was somewhere near the Los Vegas area, it was anything but a small town. Fortuitously, Viveka seemed to buy it and let the subject drop as a loud, annoyed yell came from the kitchen. "Aaaaagh! Curse these fancy gadgets!" Viktor's heavy voice yelled. Frankie rolled her eyes. "Press the middle green button and twist the knob 10 degrees to the left!" she called. Lowing humming soon followed as Viktor left the kitchen to go elsewhere in the house. "That's my dad for ya. Can solve the most complicated equations and bring dead bodies back to life, but he can't program a simple dishwasher." Frankie said to Frankenstrike who snickered. Viveka frowned, but the ghost a smile could be seen on her lips.

"Frankie dear, you and your new friend should probably get going to school." she said, clearing her dishes and snagging both Frankie and Frankenstrike's bowls. Frankie nodded and jumped out of the chair, the sound of her feet pounding on the basement stairs resonating through the house. Frankenstrike, unsure of what to do, decided to wait for Frankie by the front door. He stood there waiting for a couple minutes, glancing for a set of 3 framed photos tacked to the wall. The first was what appeared to be a wedding ceremony of Viktor and Viveka, with the groom dressed in an incredibly large tuxedo, and the bride in a wedding dress resembling cobwebs. The Justice of the Peace was a man wearing a pair of goggles with a crazed look in his eye, and the best man was a hunchback dressed in a suit.

The second photo was of the Stein parents in what seemed to be a lab of sorts. Lying on a table, was Frankie, seemingly lifeless as large amounts of electricity crackled overhead. It was actually one of the few times Viveka had worn a lab coat or done anything relating to science, usually leaving that to her husband. "That's one way of making the perfect child." Frankenstrike commented quietly to himself.

The third photo was similar to the last, but with a happy Frankie in a lab coat and goggles holding a newly awoken Whatzit as her parents stood proudly off to the side with smiles on their faces, though they looked sort of scary in the shadow of the electricity that flashed over their heads in huge conductors. Frankenstrike was shaken out of his thoughts by a scratching at the door. He opened it, thankful that the knob already looked smushed between large fingers before he grabbed it, and glanced down to see Whatzit waiting patiently at the door, his tongue lolling out of his mouth. "Did you find the bone already?" he asked playfully. Whatzit yipped and ran out into the yard toward a large _Brachiosaurus _skeleton. Frankenstrike stood there his jaw wide open as Frankie came humming down the stairs and stood next to him. "Good job, Whatzit!" she said, scratching her pet behind its ears. She pulled out a large steak with fish stuck into and gave it to him. "Just make sure to put it back after your done." she told him.

"C'mon!" she said excitedly, pulling Frankenstrike out of the doorway. "I can't wait for you to meet my friends! I'm sure they'll like you!"

_I hope they do._ Ben thought to himself as he walked with Frankie down the sidewalk.

**So what do you think? Good? Bad? Somewhere in between? Please review in the comments below, and if you liked it, I'll try to have the next chapter out by next week, but I can't make any promises.**


	2. A Fish out of Water

**Thank you for the many reviews! I honestly didn't expect this story to be so good (mostly because I was the first one to make one). I'm sorry this took so long to update. That's what I get for trying to write 4 stories at the same time. Extra thanks to Rexfan1333 for giving me a brilliant idea for this story! And now, without further interruption!**

**Enjoy!**

Ben had to admit, that the school was far more impressive than any other school he had gone to in his life. The school was large and imposing with high pink walls and a large courtyard, of which a large fountain that spewed forth swamp water sat. Hundreds of students of every monster type roamed about as they chatted and talked to each other. Large trees lined the walls of the courtyard, with students reading and studying under them. Several spirits swooped and dived through the air toward their classes, frightening a couple of students as they passed by.

"So? What do you think?" Frankie asked him. He startled, forgetting she had been next to him for a moment. Then again, he was more than twice her height. In fact, he seemed to be the tallest one in the courtyard, even towering over a large minotaur that was tossing around a basketball with a werewolf and gorgon. "I'm impressed." was all he could say. Frankie nodded and grabbed his large arm, dragging him across the courtyard, drawing the attention of almost every monster in the area. Frankenstrike tried to ignore them, and saw that Frankie was pulling him toward a small group of monsters crowded around the front steps leading up to the school.

A tall mummy girl with gold and black striped hair and wrapped in gold and blue bandages eyed him carefully as he approached them. The werewolf wearing a purple skirt sniffed him as a small, pink vampire practically squealed at the sight of him and Frankie together. Their even shorter zombie friend just moaned, her eyes moving in separate directions for a brief moment before settling on him. "Hey, Frankie!" the werewolf said.

"Hey, Clawdeen! You finish last nights Biteology homework?" Frankie asked. The werewolf nodded as the mummy pushed her way to the front of the group. "Frankie, I'm sure we all _want _to talk about the homework we were supposed to do last night, but I'm pretty sure we're all _dying _to know where you got your new boyfriend." she said in a commanding voice. The girls all voiced their wanting to talk about him. "Where did you get such a hulking guy?" Clawdeen asked, referring to Frankenstrike's monstrous size. He would be lucky if he didn't have to duck his head just to fit into every door in the building. "I found him on my front lawn." Frankie replied, getting odd stares from her friends. "So, what? Your dad invented a boyfriend plant?" Draculaura asked.

Frankie blushed as Frankenstrike turned red and his chargers crackled with electricity. "He's not my boyfriend!" Frankie said quickly. "We're just friends! I thought I might show him around on his first day." The other monsters seemed to by it, even though Draculaura bit her lip in excitement. Ghoulia moaned something incomprehensible to Frankenstrike. "Uh, what did she say? I don't speak zombie." he said with slight remorse in his voice. "She asked what that disk on your chest is for." Cleo translated. "And why you don't wear a shirt." she added, her eyes tracing over his large muscles. Frankenstrike. Clawdeen elbowed her as Frankenstrike tried to come up with something. "It's, uh, to help me, um, control my electrokinesis?" he tried, hoping against that they would buy it. The girls shrugged and headed into the school, Ghoulia casting a suspicious glance back at him.

"I think they're starting to like you." Frankie said.

"I'm not so sure." Frankenstrike said nervously.

"Oh, don't worry about it! I'll take you to Headmistress Bloodgood so you can get started!" Frankie said. She quickly pulled him inside before he could argue, his head hitting the top of the doors and ripping out a small section in the shape out his squared head. He was pulled down dark purple halls lined with coffin shaped lockers. It seemed that most of the sports areas were on the first floor. He passed an open door to a large pool area that reeked of chlorine and an even bigger indoor gym where the Casketball team was practicing. There even appeared to be an indoor football and soccer field!

Eventually they came to a door with several bars over the window. Whether it was meant to look threatening or for protection was up to debate. Frankie walked up to the door and gave a quick knock. "Come in." a female voice ordered. Frankie opened the door and stepped inside, gesturing for Frankenstrike to do the same. He stepped forward and ducked down, his large conductors taking a bit off the top of the door frame. "That's gonna be a real headache." he sighed as he sat down next to Frankie in two chairs in front of the desk. The chair groaned under his weight for a brief moment before it gave way and broke, setting down a couple feet. He was still, however, taller than Frankie or the woman sitting in front of him.

The woman had black hair curled up on her head. Which was sitting on her desk as her body wrote on a sheet of paper. Frankenstrike nearly fainted at the sight before Frankie whispered to him that she was the daughter of the Headless Horseman. He relaxed by about 5 degrees as the head cleared her throat (how does a head do that anyway?). "A pleasure to meet the newest student here at Monster High," the Headmistress said with a bright smile. Her body gave a brief thumbs up before returning to writing. "I will admit, we weren't expecting you, but I'm sure you'll fit in quite well. I see you've already made some friends here, and I'm sorry to say you won't be able to see them for a while."

"What!?" Frankenstrike exclaimed, jolting up from the remains of his chair and hit his head on the ceiling, leaving a large dent as plaster fell down. "That is the reason why you will not be able to see your new friends for a while," the Headmistress stated. "Since you have come here, your clumsiness has dealt a healthy amount of damage that needs to be payed for. From the little information I have gathered about you, you have no job to help pay for damages for enough money. Therefore, you will have to find some form of work to pay off the damages to the school." Frankenstrike grumbled a bit, but sullenly agreed. "I understand the Stein family has currently taken you in for the moment," the Headmistress continued. "I am sure they wouldn't mind that you also pay a sort of staying fee. You can find some help from Lagoona Blue at the Maul after school. I'll inform her, and you two can decide when and where to meet. Agreed?"

"Sure. Whatever." Frankenstrike huffed as he and Frankie exited the office with his schedule in hand.

* * *

"It looks like you first class is with Mr. Hackington," Frankie said as she glanced over Ben's schedule. "Should I be worried?" he asked as they arrived at the classroom door. Behind the barred door he could hear insane laughter echoing off the walls as the lights flickered on and off. "Nah, Mr. Hack is pretty easy to handle. Just keep your head down, don't get on his bad side, and you'll be fine." Frankie replied as a loud explosion suddenly rocked the school. "What exactly does he teach?" Frankenstrike asked as he peered through the bars of the door.

"Mad Science," Frankie replied. "Don't worry. Just do what I do, and you;ll be fine."

"If you say so." Frankenstrike sighed as he opened the door and promptly ripped it off its hinges. "At this rate, I'll be working for the rest of my high school life time." he sighed. Frankie laughed and walked through the doorway as Frankenstrike followed, ducking through and for once not taking out the frame. He set the door back in place and turned to see the class and Mr. Hack starring up at him. "Uh, hi! I'm Frankenstrike. The, uh, new student." he said nervously, waving a massive hand. A few of the students returned the greeting, though without taking their gazes off of his massive form. He smiled queasily and walked over to the set of seats and chose to sit in the back, where his solid form wouldn't block anyone's view. He walked up the steps, each one breaking under his metal lined shoes. He sat down in a seat and cringed as his chair broke beneath him. Mr. Hack cleared his throat and resumed the class as Frankie sat next to Clawdeen in the row in front of Frankenstrike. "Well, now. Since we have a new student in our class . . . . . . HOMEWORK FOR EVERYONE!" he bellowed. "Pages 37-118 due by tomorrow!" Everyone groaned, a few of them shooting glances at Frankenstrike.

_Not the best way to start school, _he thought as he attempted to look hidden

* * *

"So, where am I supposed to meet Lagoona?" he asked Frankie as the school walked through the crowded Maul. The rest of school had gotten a little better after Mad Science had ended. Frankie had been in a couple other of Frankenstrike's classes, which made things a little easier. Gym with Mr. Igor had been the best class so far, as everyone wanted him on their team when they divided up for basketball. Being incredibly tall and durable had its advantages.

"She works at the Coffin Bean over there," Frankie said, pointing to a brown building. "I'll meet you there in a few minutes. I'm meeting Draculaura, Clawdeen, and Cleo at Bath & Cadaver Works." With that, she walked off through the crowds of monsters as Frankenstrike headed toward the coffee shop. He ducked under the door way, and was relieved to find that the ceiling was higher than last percieved. It was sort of cozy, with comfy arm chairs arranged in small circles around the shop as framed pictures hung on the walls, their eyes following you wherever you went. A long counter sat at the back of the shop as the smell of caffeine hung in the air like a heavy blanket. A girl with blue skin (scales?) and long, blonde hair as thick and wavy as seaweed was working behind the counter. Sharp, blue fins poked themselves out of her wrists and ankles. She wore a golden, seahorse necklace, a scale covered jacket decorated in black, blue, and pink, and a pair of shorts with fish nets going down to her knees. A white apron with several brown stains was wrapped around her waist as he approached the counter. The shop, for the moment, was empty, and a small, spherical bowl with a handle attached to it sat on the counter. A bright pink piranha swam around happily, flashing Frankenstrike a toothy grin as the girl turned around to greet him.

"'Ello, there! You mus' be Frankenstrike, am I right?" she asked, flashing him a friendly smile. "Yeah, that's me. Uh, Frankie said I could get a job here?" he answered, his being dwarfing the young sea monster with ease. Lagoona was entirely bathed in his shadow as the piranha swam nervously around in her bowl, clicking her sharp teeth together. Frankenstrike looked at it with a queasy look. "Oh, don't mind Neptuna! She just gets like that around new people." Lagoona explained. "Once she knows you, she's really nice. See?" she said, holding up the bowl for Frankenstrike to look into. He nervously reached a finger inside to pet the fish, and sighed with relief when it cozied up to the large finger, scratching itself with pleasure.

Then it bit him.

Frankenstrike didn't even flinch as the piranha's teeth sunk into his patch work skin. It didn't hurt a lot, but he wasn't exactly eager to have it attached to his finer either. Lagoona gasped and grabbed Neptuna loose, scolding her lightly as she slipped her back into the bowl, and set it beneath the counter out of sight. "Well then, lets get you into uniform!" she said, gesturing for Frankenstrike to come into the back room with her. He silently slid behind the counter, trying to break anything as he was thrown an extra, extra large apron to wear. Over the next half hour, the 2 teens went over everything about the shop, from the items on the menu and their costs to how to severe them and make them.

"Well, that pretty much wraps it up. Our shifts end in a couple of minutes," Lagoona said as she slipped off her apron and hung it on a hook for the next employee. Frankenstrike followed suit, tossing his on the floor instead; no one other than him was big enough to wear it. "So tell me 'bout yerself. From what I hear, you just suddenly appeared in Mr. Stein's flower bed one night." Lagoona said with a small laugh. Frankenstrike froze. What was he supposed to say? _I'm actually not from this universe, I come from a completely different one wear there aren't any monsters and I have a watch that can turn me into aliens?_ Not exactly something most people would believe.

"Well, I, uh . . . . Lagoona, you're nice and all, but . . ." he began. Lagoona was about to say something when she stopped. She took a breath and started to choke, coughing and hacking. Ben was too busy mumbling and stuttering to notice until Lagoona fell to the floor, gasping for air. "Crap!" he yelled, picking her off the floor in one, giant hand. "Water! Water! Where the heck do I find water?" he panicked until Lagoona shakily raised a hand to the back of the shop where a sign that said 'Restroom' hung on a chain. Without even thinking of what he was doing he ran into the door on the right, which just happened to be the girls side, and turned on the faucet before shoving Lagoona's face into the sink. He held her there as her chest rose and fell quickly, gasping in the steady rush of water, until he was sure she had had enough. He pulled her out and turned the water off and Lagoona calmed down. Frankenstrike breathed a sigh of relief until a sound met his ears.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

He glanced down at his chest and startled when he saw the Omnitrix flashing red, signaling the time out. He was surprised that the transformation had held out this long, and began to panick. He had quickly learned at school that most of the monsters weren't exactly fond of humans or 'normies' as they called them. He had seen what Jackson Hyde had suffered from Manny over several periods until he suddenly changed into Holt. Then the bullying stopped. Some of the students were _tolerant _of normies, but most of them weren't exactly eager to be around them._ Crap! What's Lagoona gonna think when she sees a human boy in the girls bathroom where Frankenstrike just was? _He was soon about to find out as the familiar green flash enveloped him, changing him back into his human self. He shook his head to see Lagoona starring at him, wide eyed. "Who are you, mate? Where's Frankenstrike? And why are you in the ghouls room at the Maul?" she asked as she parted her wet hair to one side. Ben sucked in a deep breath. He had to tell someone, and Lagoona seemed to be the best option at the moment.

"My name is Ben Tennyson," he began slowly. "And I'm not from around here."

"I'll say you aren't." Lagoona mumbled to herself as Ben continued.

"And by 'not from around here', I mean I'm not from this universe." That seemed to catch Lagoona's attention a bit more.

"Where I come from, there are no monsters like you, Frankie, or anyone else. Where I come from, monsters like Frankenstrike are aliens from other worlds." he said.

Lagoona cocked in eyebrow, not entirely buying the story. "Riiiight. You expect me to believe you're from another dimension where monsters are aliens? Frankenstrike must have accidently hit my head when he put me in the sink." she said. Ben held up his wrist to her, making sure the Omnitrix was in full view.

"This device, called the Omnitrix, allows me to change into different aliens. Just like Frankenstrike." he said. Lagoona paused and looked at him quizically. "You must be what the 'normies' call a LARPer. Where are your friends? Do they have blasters made out of tin cans and rubber bands?" she laughed lightly. Ben frowned.

"If I change into an alien, will you believe me?" he asked, holding his hand above the Omnitrix. Lagoona smiled. "Sure, mate. Have a go! I'd _love _another good laugh." Ben smiled cockily and activated the Omnitrix, cycling through the list before selecting an alien. "Well then, did you hear the one about the sea monster that was so surprised she couldn't speak?" he asked.

"Ah, no, I don't think I have." she said with a confused look.

Ben shrugged. "Me neither." he said before slapping the activation button. Lagoona gasped in shock as the green light enveloped him, changing his form. Scales raced up his arms and legs as they swelled, muscles building and bones strengthening. His fingers became clawed and webbed as the scales raced to cover the rest of him. Three slits appeared on either side of his neck and puffed open and shut as they sucked in air. A thin sheen of slime covered the scales as his hair disappeared into his scalp. Veins throbbed and pulsed as alien blood pumped through them and into his ever changing organs. His forehead to pulse and swell, like there was giant zit that was about to explode. And explode it did; a thin, green wire popped out of his forehead and hung in front of his face as the end began to glow and eerie color. His jaw swelled bulged and bucked until several rows of razor sharp teeth popped out and curved themselves over his lips. His eyes became that of a deep sea creature as two sharp fins rose from his back, completing the transformation. Ripjaws let out a roar, blowing back a shocked Lagoona's hair as he looked himself over.

"Ripjaws? I don't exactly appreciate your sense of irony here, Omnitrix! She already has a boyfriend!" he yelled at the hourglass symbol on a green belt that was around his waist. "So!" he said, turning to Lagoona. "Think I'm still one of those LARPers?"

Lagoona lightly shook her head and blinked. She rubbed her eyes and gave herself a quick slap, but the fish man was still there, towering over her by at least a foot. "Have you told anyone else?" she asked quietly. Ripjaws shook his head. "I'm afraid that they'll be mad at me." he said. Lagoona was about to say something, but Ripjaws interrupted. "And I'm not going to feel better about it. You know how they feel about normies." he interjected. "So until I can spill the beans, I need you to keep your mouth shut." he said, clamping his jaws shut for emphasis. Lagoona sighed and agreed. "Now lets get out of here before someone else comes in." Ripjaws didn't need to be told twice, and they quickly left the bathroom and exited the coffee shop, running into Frankie and friends near the Information Board.

"Hey, Lagoona! How's Frankenstrike's new job?" Frankie asked as Cleo, Draculaura, and Clawdeen caught up with her, their arms laden with bags. "And who's your new friend?" she asked. "Did you find him asleep in the bathroom?" she joked, referring to how she had found Frankenstrike. Ripjaws and Lagoona glanced at each other before Lagoona answered. "Frankenstrike's doin' just fine. He, uh, decided to look around the Maul a bit and told me to tell you he would meet you back at home." Frankie's face fell a bit. She had been looking forward to hanging out with Frankenstrike. And while she didn't want to admit it, she had developed a little crush on the hulking mass of stitches and bolts. She knew her parents would quickly approve of someone who looked so similar to them. They had excepted Jackson when they found out he was the son of Dr. Jekyll, and had begrudgingly excpeted Holt as well. Frankie knew that after the past few days events, they would like Frankenstrike one way or another.

"Anyway, this is a new friend of mine, Ripjaws." she introduced the ghouls to Ben. Ripjaws grabbed a hold of each of their hands and shook them in greeting, Cleo a little disgusted after a little bit of fish slime remained on her hand. "Lagoona, you better not be cheating on Gil!" Draculaura joked. The ghouls had a laugh, as Ripjaws laughed alone nervously, glancing to the Omnitrix on his belt.

"Hey, Lagoona!" The group turned to see a group boodes heading their way. Among them was a seemingly human boy with a Mohawk of live snakes, a werewolf rocking a letter jacket, and a sea monster wearing a glass dome over his head. "Hey, Gil!" Lagoona greeted her boyfriend, pecking him on the cheek. Gil was about to return the favor when he caught a glimpse of Ripjaws starring at him. Or not. He was picking his teeth with one of his claws. It was hard to tell with such faded eyes. "Lagoona, who's your friend?" he asked with slight hostility.

"Ripjaws the name, and biting things is my game!" Ben said, shaking Gil's hand. "I work with your girlfriend at the Coffin Bean. And don't worry. She's all yours, bro." he reassured him. Gil raised an eyebrow before sullenly nodding. He breathed a sigh of relief, a trail of bubbles escaping his lips. "Hey, man. Are you a new student at school?" the snake headed man asked. "Guess I am." Rip jaws shrugged. "And you are?"

"Deuce. Deuce Gorgon." he said. "And this is Clawd Wolf. Why don't you hang out with us for a while? Do you need a place to stay?" Ripjaws nodded his head. Returning to Frankie's would be too suspicious. And as much as he didn't want to hurt Frankie, he didn't want to get her in trouble either. Who knew what her parents would do if she let another boy into their house without their consensus. OR what happened if they discovered Ripjaws and Frankenstrike were in fact the same person? The risk was too great. "Cool. You can stay over at my place. Maybe Gil if his parents aren't so uptight about it." Deuce said, elbowing a red Gil with a laugh. "Don't worry, dude. We know you got enough problems." Clawd laughed.

"What's wrong with his parents?" Ripjaws asked curiously.

"His are all against him dating a sea monster," Clawdeen explained. "Something about a feud between the sea and river monsters a couple millennium ago." Ripjaws nodded his head in understanding.

"Don't worry, man. I assure you, I am 50% river monster. I'm 50% sea monster." he said as Gil looked at him in confusion. "I can breath either one. No biggie." Ripjaws explained.

The group talked for a couple more minutes before deciding to hit the food court, with the guys buying snacks. Ripjaws pitched in some money he had earned at the Coffin Bean to buy he, Lagoona, and Gil Seaweed smoothies, which actually turned out to be delicious. As the group chatted away at one of the many tables, Ben couldn't help but wonder how much longer he could pull this scheme off. He just hoped the Omnitrix would work with him.

Unfortunately, that wasn't going to happen.

* * *

"You have found him?" a wheezing voice asked

"Yes, master. We have located him. I've tracked him to an exact location, if you wish to here about it." a deep, growling, almost animal like voice answered.

The figure that the wheezing voice belonged to waved his henchman off. A werewolf like creatire got up from his bent position on the ground. "No, no. Let us leave Ben Tennyson alone, at least for now." the wheezing voice said. "We have much more pressing matters to attend to. Has Dr. Viktor completed the plans?"

The werewolf nodded. "He has. We just need to gather the materials."

The wheezing figure smiled. "Well done, Crüjo. With any luck, we will be finished in two weeks time."

"And then?" Crüjo asked his dark master, whose bony features curled into a smooth smile.

"Then I, Zs'Skayer, shall destroy Ben Tennyson and become High Ectolord once more!" the Ectonurite cackled, his wheezing laugh echoing through the dark warehouse where he and his men had set up shop.

**And there's the next chapter! Let me know if I did a good job at writing the Monster High gang. Leave any suggestions below, and I will try to have the next chapter out in a few weeks. Schools, starting, so things are gonna get crazy.**


	3. Clockwork 101

**Okay, so have gotten many reviews asking how Monster High fits into this whole mess, as well as who I'm going to pair Ben with. Well now, I'm gonna set the record straight: I'm not telling. Why would I give these away at the very beginning? And I'm going to give Ben at least a few more chapters to stir up mischief before his identity is revealed to the school.**

**I will however, drop a small hint on this story, just to keep you entertained: someone will finally redeem themselves. If you can guess, don't tell anyone! I repeat, don't tell anyone!**

"Oh my ghoul!" Draculaura suddenly cried. Everyone turned in their seats to look at the small, pink vampire, who clutched her icoffin with white knuckles. "What? What's so important?" Cleo asked with a slightly miffed tone in her voice. She was the one that got all the important texts first, while her friends got it second, and then everyone else got it third. It _must _be in that order. _Must._

"Robecca Steam's gonna jump the school!" Draculaura squealed with excitement. Everyone at the table burst into a roar of excitement, everyone talking over one another, leaving Ripjaws completely confused as to what was going on.

"She's gonna do it? Dude, that is sick!" Clawd exclaimed as he high fived Deuce.

"Is she crazy? Last time she tried that, she crashed right into the belfry!" Clawdeen yelled.

"I know!" Draculaura cried.

"RRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW-RRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOWWWWWRR!" Ripjaws roared, blowing everyone's hair/snakes/fur/bandages back, silencing them all.

"Thank you," said Ripjaws, clearing his throat. "Now then, can someone kindly explain to me who this Robecca girl is, and _why _she's trying to jump over the school? _Again?_"

Everyone acted sheepish, as they realized Ripjaws had no idea what they were talking about, or why they were so excited. "Robecca's a friend of mine," Frankie began. "She was created by a mad scientist that was a friend of my grandfather's."

"Dr. Frankenstein, right?"

Frankie nodded. "She's a robot that goes to Monster High with the rest of us, and she's kind of a dare devil in her spare time. She's been trying to jump the school for the past year or so, and last time she tried, she missed." Clawdeen explained. "Spent two months stuck in the workshop getting repaired, poor thing. And they _still _couldn't fix that problem she has with time."

"What problem?" Ripjaws asked.

"She's had this problem with some sort of inner clock. It's completely busted, so she's pretty much always late for everything. Good thing she has a permanent pass from Headmistress Bloodgood." Frankie explained.

Ripjaws nodding, following along with intent. "Cool. So when does she jump?

Everyone turned to Draculaura, who was busy scrolling on her icoffin screen. "Uh, tomorrow at lunch time." she said.

"I hope that gives me enough time to finish the homework Mr. Hack gave me." Lagoona said with nervousness in her voice. "Tomorrow we start . . . . _dissection._" she shuddered, hugging Gil tightly"Is she squeamish?" Ripjaws asked. Gil shook his head. "Every time Mr. Hack has us do a dissection unit, he has us cut open little frogs. Lagoona and I are practically related to them. It's like cutting open our parents!" Ripjaws nodded in understanding. "I see. Maybe I can help."

"How?" Lagoona sniffed.

"Lets just say I know a guy," Ripjaws said mischievously, glancing down at the Omnitrix.

* * *

"These are frogs?" Ripjaws asked.

"Unfortunately yes," Lagoona answered as she scratched hers under the chin. The small amphibians looked like normal frogs at first glance, but these little guys had an extra eye between their normal two, though that was pretty much the only thing that was different. "These lil' cuties are gonna be cut open wide, if yer friend doesn't show up soon." Mr. Hack was distracted, lecturing on the many ways to cut open your frog and rip out its organs while it was still alive (that's Mad Science for ya).

"I need you to distract Mr. Hack while I transform." he hissed to Lagoona so no one else could hear them. As of late, Lagoona was the only ghoul he trusted to so far with his secret. Lagoona nodded and raised her webbed hand to catch Mr. Hacks attention while Ripjaws slowly slid down in his seat. "Mr. Hack? Is there any way to remove the frogs brain while it's still alive?" Lagoona asked, the question like acid in her throat as Ripjaws slunk toward the door. He quietly slipped it open and clipped it shut, unaware that someone had seen him leave, unnoticed by Mr. Hack.

"Well, Ms. Blue! Finally glad that yer takin' a likin' to Mad Science!" Mr. Hack said with enthusiasm. "To answer yer question, there are numerous ways to remove the brain and keep the frog alive for a few minutes. My personal favorite is-

CRASH!

"Hey! Nobody moves!" a deep, Boston accented voice yelled. Mr. Hack and the rest of the student body looked up in surprise to see a large frog-like creature crouching amongst shards of broken glass in front of a shattered window. The finger drew up to his full height, towering over Mr. Hack, drawing a small squeak of fright from him. The being was dressed in a tight black body suit with a green stripe down the middle. Thick, green cuffs sat around his wrists and ankles, a pair of fingerless gloves on his two fingered hand and thumb. The frog man had a well defined jawline and wore a pair of sunglasses that covered his eyes as his mouth turned into a frown.

"Yous betta let my froggy brethren go, before I beats ya ta pieces!" he ordered. Mr. Hack continued to stare up at the being as his hand reached around on his table for a weapon. As his thick finger curled around the handle of an ax, the being opened its mouth, a long tongue whipping out and smacking his hand away from the ax. "Let my froggy amigos go _now, _so says I, Bullfrag!" the frog man yelled as he grabbed Mr. Hack by the wrist and lifted him off the ground with ease, bring him up to eye level. "Have you any objections?" he growled. Mr. Hack shook his head, and Bullfrag promptly threw him into a supply closet door without hesitation. He turned to the student body, who were are crouched down in their seats as Lagoona smiled. "Class dismissed." he smiled before giving a shrill whistle. Every frog in the room immediately perked up and hopped to Bullfrag's feet. The Incursean scooped up as many frogs as he walked back over to the broken window.

"Laters!" he said to the students. Bullfrag leaped out the window, out of sight as the students followed with their eyes. Minutes passed before the classroom erupted into chaos. Monsters rushed to the door as they talked with their fellow class mates, while a few rushed to the window to look after Bullfrag, who had quickly vanished. Soon the classroom was empty of the student body, the only remaining people being Lagoona and Ghoulia, who was sweeping up the glass shards. Mr. Hack remained unconcious in his supply closet.

"What'd I miss?" Ripjaws asked as he entered the room. Lagoona smiled and pulled him into a hug, which he returned awkardly. "Yer the best, mate!" he exclaimed. "No problem. Kind of fun to get back at Hack for what happened yesterday." Ripjaws smiled.

"Eeeeeeee-hhhhhhhhh?" Ghoulia moaned as he limped over to the two sea creatures. "Aaa-eeee-aahh." Ripjaws had no idea what she was saying, but he knew it couldn't have been good. "I'm almost afraid to ask, but what did she just say?" he asked. Lagoona looked nervously between her two friends, Ghoulia with a look of triumph on her face. "Ghoulia, uh, said she knows your secret. She wants you to change back. Now." Lagoona translated. "The jig's up." Ripjaws blinked, processing what he had just been told. He sighed and slapped the Omnitrix on his belt, engulfed in a flash of green light.

Seconds later, he was his normal human self. Lagoona was only a few inches taller than he was, but he was a giant compared to Ghoulia. Whether this was due to her height or her slouching habit was up to debate. "Well, here I am. Go ahead, scream." Ben sighed. Another monster who knew his secret. How long would it be before the entire school knew about him?

"Aaaaaaah?" Ghoulia moaned once more, raising an eyebrow. Clearly this was not what she was expecting. "You're a Normie?" Lagoona translated. Ben sighed. "Yep. One Normie, all kinds of monster." Before Ben could stop her, Ghoulia lunged forward and latched onto Ben's left wrist. "Gah! Is she trying to eat me!?" Ben cried as he tried to pull Ghoulia off, who looked seriously offended.

Lagoona laughed. "Nah, zombies don't like human flesh. That's just a myth. Ghoulia prefers fast food."

"Then why is she not letting go?" Ben asked.

"I think she's interested in that Omnitrix of yours, mate."

"What!? What are you doing!?" Ben yelled as Ghoulia examined the watch like device on his wrist. Her pale fingers taped the watch face and activated it, covering Ghoulia's face in bright green light. She cycled through the hologram list in awe, marveling at the many transformations Ben had in his watch. Curiously, she tapped on one of the images, and gently pressed down on the activation as Ben warned her not to do it. "No! Don't-

FOOM!

Too late. A green encased him, and the changes began as the alien DNA coursed throughout his veins.

His skin went from being soft and warm to hot and hard as concrete. Rocky bumps formed on his wrists and shins. His shoulders became broad and massive, so large that he had no neck at all; his face face was stuck right in the middle. His mouth became wider and almost forever stuck in a toothy grin. His fingers swelled in size, and Ben could feel a slight tingling sensation at the tips. He felt a strange feeling as his guts all move upward into his chest as a swirling, hot magma center filled their space. His toes melted into one smooth, rounded foot. A pair of black shorts with green stripes appeared on him as the Omnitrix suddenly appeared on his forehead, completing the transformation.

"Gravattack?" Ben sputtered as he saw himself in the reflection of the broken window shards. "Great! How am I supposed to blend in!?" Before Lagoona could answer, Ghoulia curiously tapped the Omnitrix on Gravattack's forehead, having to jump a little just to reach it. Ben cried out in surprise as he was enveloped in another flash of green light. For a brief moment he turned back to his human self as the features of the Galilean were sucked back into his body.

The second transformation began after the briefest of seconds, starting with his skin hardening. It wasn't like before, when his skin became hard as rock, but it seemed tougher than that, more stable. It became cold to the touch the metal plating raced to cover his arms and transform his fingers into metallic fingers. He felt all of his organs simply vanish, as if they had never been there before. For a split second, Ben thought he was going to die, until he felt something else take their place. Things that were rounded and notched around the ends as they began to steadily turn against each other, making a steady ticking sound. The metal plating soon covered his whole body as he felt his face become more square like. A thick protrusion sprouted from his head as the Omnitrix symbol appeared on a glass window that showed his insides turning against each other.

"Clockwork!" Ben cried out in a thick German accent. "Well, at least I'll blend in." he sighed. Ghoulia began to reach for the Omnitrix symbol on Clockwork's chest plate, attempting to watch another transformation sequence, but Ben saw it coming. He quickly raised his arms as Ghoulia reached for him, and felt something inside him click. His windup key-like protrusion slowly rotated counter clockwise, and a green light burst outward from his see-through chest plate. Immediately, everything slowed down around him, everything from Lagoona gasping and blinking in shock to Ghoulia slowly reaching for the Omntrix symbol. She was incredibly slow, even by zombie standards. Clockwork simply walked out of the way and to the other side of the room, his metal feet clunking against the floor.

Now, to anyone who was watching, they would have seen him moving at light speed, faster than their eye could blink. One moment, he was standing next to Ghoulia and Lagoona, the next he was on the opposite side of the room. Ben concentrated, and his key-like protrusion spun clockwise at a fast pace, bringing time back to its normal flow. "Ahhhhhhhhh!" Ghoulia yelled in surprise. Lagoona was jerking her head back and forth between the spot where Clockwork had been, and where he was now, almost unable to comprehend what had just happened. "As Clockwork, I have absolute control over time. I can speed it up or slow it down however I want." Ben explained to the two ghouls.

"Ehhhhhh-aaaaaaahhh." Ghoulia groaned. Lagoona quickly translated for Ben, who was beginning to pick up on some Zombie. Not enough to completely understand Ghoulia, but enough to pick bits and pieces of what she was saying. "She wants to know who else you've been posing as." Lagoona said.

"Well, I've been Frankenstrike, Ripjaws, and Bullfrag, the guy that just smashed through the windows and rescued the frogs. FYI, it was Lagoona's idea." Ben said quickly. Lagoona frowned, but quickly smiled at the thought of her froggy friends not getting dissected.

"Hey, mate. Do you know what _time _it is?" Lagoona joked. Ben was not amused.

"I prefer you do not make time jokes around me. For some reason it feels insulting." he stated as he crossed his arms over his chest and huffed. "Anyway, it's currently 12:13. As Clockwork, I also always know what time it is without even having to look at a clock."

"Say, isn't Robecca gonna jump the school at lunch?" Lagoona asked. Ben nodded his head, which was more like swiveling it from side to side. "That's in 1 minute and 23 seconds. We better hurry."

* * *

"So, where is this Robecca girl again?" Clockwork asked Lagoona. Ghoulia sat on top of Clockwork's shoulders, too short to see over the crowd. Ben had been a little uncomfortable with having someone who had randomly made change aliens on him, but given in after seeing the disappointed look on Ghoulia's pale face. Ghoulia scanned the crowd, her legs wrapped around Clockwork's short neck and her arms resting on his windup key protrusion. "Ehh!" she cried, and pointed off toward the left side of the school courtyard. Every monster in the school had come out to the courtyard, facing the school to see two wooden ramps that had obviously been hastily constructed sitting on either side of the tallest belfry. On the left ramp, a girl with copper skin dotted with rivets, bolts, and patches was slowly stretching, getting the kinks out of her machinery. Her blue and black girl flapped in the breeze as jets of smoke and flame puffed out of the bottoms of her feet. Her cage-like skirt that wrapped around her black skirt moved in the breeze as the antennae attached to her goggles twirled and spun.

"Ladies and gentlemen, monsters of all species!" Headmistress Bloodgood's voice rang out over the loudspeakers. The excited crowd quickly quieted down as the Headmistress began a short speech. "Today, Robecca Steam will attempt to jump Monster High once more! Please no flash photography, as it could seriously injure our student like last time." the woman said as several monsters turned to glare at a small goblin who smiled sheepishly. "Now, without further delay, let the jumping commonsense!" The student body erupted into cheers as Robecca waved to the crowd and backed up and off the ramp, going so far back she eventually pressed against the walls surrounding the school. She sucked in a deep breath and snapped her goggles over her eyes. She felt the oil and fuel flow through her circuitry as she gave her rocket boots an experimental puff. Everything had been accounted for to avoid another accident like last time. Everything from the ramp angle and crowd to what brand of fuel she used. It all mattered. She took a breath and shot forward, a cloud smoke racing behind her as she shot up the ramp and into the sky, the wind blowing against her face as she soared through the air.

Below, the crowd was ecstatic, erupting into applause and cheers as Robecca flew through the air. The roar of crowd became even louder as she just made it over the top spire of the school's belfry and came down from the other side. Up in the air, Robecca was practically panicking despite the rousing cheer from her fellow monsters. She had calibrated for everything she could think. Absolutely every was in place. So why was suddenly feeling tired? She felt as if her energy was slowly diminishing as she fell toward the ramp. The usual thrust of her rocket boots felt weaker until they gave a final cough and died. "AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Robecca screamed at the top of her lungs as she fell toward the ramp. Without any rocket fuel in her boots, she couldn't cushion her fall as she landed. She could kill herself!

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she screamed again. "No!" Clockwork yelled, pushing his way through the student body and leaving a worried Lagoona behind. Ghoulia hung on tight as the metallic being raced toward the landing ramp and skidded to a stop as Robecca fell just above them. Barely even thinking, he rose his arms and commanded the time stream to slow, like a river being dammed up. The affect was immediate as the green ray washed over everyone, making their movements incredibly slow. Robecca's eyes widened (slowly) as her fallen was slowed to a lazy pace. She could hardly move her limbs as her mind raced to process what was happening. She glanced below her to see Ghoulia on top of a bronze, robotic creature with his arms spread wide as he danced around at lightning speed to catch her, faster than her circuits and gears could process.

Eventually she came within arm reach of the creature who raised an arm up and latched both of his arms onto her hips. She suddenly felt as if she was rushing a hundred miles an hour as the giant mechanical beast cradled her in his arms. She was breathing heavily now, having just escaped a life threatening moment as the key-like protrusion on the monster's head spun clockwise quickly, returning the time stream to its normal flow. The roar of the crowd now was earth shattering as hundreds of monsters took out their iCoffins to snap pictures of the three, Ghoulia on Clockwork's head as Robecca sat in his strong arms.

"You, okay?" Clockwork asked Robecca. The metallic girl looked up into his blank green eyes and smiled as a burst of steam escaped from her ears. "Y-yes, I'm fine. Simply splendid." she said in a shaky voice. "Would you like me to put you down?" Clockwork asked.

"No!" Robecca cried, causing Clockwork to pause. "No. No. I'm still a little shaky." she said as her copper face turned red. "Can you take me to the Creepateria? I think I'll be able to manage just fine when I've had something to eat." she said to cover her trail. Clockwork nodded and walked down off the ramp and toward the doors as the crowd followed them inside.

**And there's the new chapter! Looks like Frankie isn't the only who likes Ben!**

**Now then, I have a request for all you readers and fans of my stories; please do not comment about my other stories on a different story. One example by a reader (who shall not be named) did so, and I'm not entirely happy about it. Also, I have been frequently getting messages from said reader and others about posting more chapters faster.**

**As school has begun for me, I will have less and less time to update stories. You must be patient. I will guarantee however, that I will try to get a new chapter up on all my current stories once a month, maybe more around the holidays. So, please be patient, and have a nice day!**

**¡Hasta luego!**


	4. In the Spirit of Things

**I'm back and _deader _than ever! Hah! Monster jokes:)**

**Anyway, I'm surprised with how many readers and followers I have. Mostly I'm proud that I've come up with such a successful story! That aside, I'm highly disappointed. It gets lonely at the top and (despite me declaring this to be the first of its kind) I wish there to be more stories of Ben 10 and Monster High together! If you like it so much, why aren't there more?**

I will however say, that if you _do _make one and use and/or add to my idea, you have to creativity of your own whatsoever. Come up with your own ideas, as no one likes a copycat. Now that that's over with, on with the story!

**It'll be _boo-tiful! _Ah, monster puns.**

The Creepateria was packed. Monsters filled every space and corner as Clockwork waded his way through the crowd with Robecca resting in his strong, bronze arms and Ghoulia sitting on his shoulders. They eventually found an open table and sat down at it, Robecca shakily standing on her own legs to sit down. A couple of other students came by to congratulate Robecca on her jump as Lagoona suddenly appeared next to them, holding three smoothies a mug of ginger tea, Robecca's favorite. The robot girl happily to the mug and took a slow sip as she leaned into Clockwork, resting a head on his arm as he slurped down his Oil-and-Bolts smoothy. Ghoulia sat across from them with Lagoona, nursing a regular Raspberry smoothy. "Congrats on yer jump, Robecca." Lagoona said with a smile. "Even if it did go kind of wrong."

Robecca grinned. "Oh, no worries. At least I'm not some puddle of oil and gears on the sidewalk. I owe Clockwork a thank you for that." Clockwork's usually straight mouth curved upwards as Robecca hugged him tightly. "Thanks for the save, luv. I don't know what I'd do if you hadn't come to my rescue." Clockwork was about to say something when he heard a distinctive beeping sound.

"Excuse me, Robecca. I, um, have to use the lavatory. Quickly!" Clockwork yelled as he got from the table and jogged out the Creepateria at a slow pace. Robecca sighed and sulked. She was really beginning to like this new boy. He was strong, kind, brave, and even good looking too. The fact that he had saved her life didn't hurt either. Oblivious to those around her, Robecca didn't notice Lagoona and Ghoulia share a worried look. "This isn't going to end well." Lagoona whispered to the zombie.

* * *

Clockwork finally stopped running after what seemed hours, but were in fact just a couple of minutes. He was panting heavily, though not as hard as when he was chasing a couple of pesky Nosedeenians around town. He breathed a huge sigh and slid down the wall of lockers to the floor as the Omnitrix timed out, reverting him back to his human form. Thankfully, no one was in sight to witness the transformation, of which Ben was grateful for. He didn't know what to do.

At first, he had been unsure of the monster world, only having an aliens as a disguise. He had made some fast friends, but he was sure they were starting to disappear; Frankenstrike had failed to make an appearance for a long time. And now someone knew. Someone knew his secret. Thankfully, they were loyal, but how soon before everyone knew? He could slowly feel his grip on the situation slipping.

**FLASH!**

Ben blinked and rubbed his eyes for a second. Where had that sudden flash of light come from? He looked around the hallway, but saw nothing but lockers and a few stray bats that flew overhead. A sudden motion out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. He jolted up and waved his hand threateningly over his watch. "You! Come out with your hands, claws, or tentacles up! I've got an Omnitrix, and I'm not afraid to use it!" he yelled, his voice echoing in the empty hallway.

Nothing happened.

"Oh, why do the victims of the press always act as if they are under attack?" a whispery voice sighed. "I am merely trying to bring the student body their weekly news."

Ben's eyes widened as he jerked his head around, searching for the source of the voice. He finally looked up and nearly fell flat on his butt when he saw the upper torso of a translucent girl hovering out of the ceiling. Her skin was pure white, becoming see-through towards her hands and fingers. A wave of purple and indigo hair hung from her head as wide, violet colored eyes starred at Ben with slight fear and disappointment. A dark purple iCoffin was clutched tightly in her left hand, pointed directly at Ben.

"Hey, put that thing away!" Ben yelled, pointing a finger at the spirit. "It's rude to invade on people's privacy!" The ghost girl sighed and rolled her eyes, but slipped the device into her schoolbag as her whole body came out of the ceiling. Her silver lips curled up into a smile. "Ben Tennyson, I presume?" she asked, reaching out a hand. Ben raised an eyebrow but took the hand (after a couple of tries) and shook it. "Um, yeah. How do you know me? And who are you?" he asked nervously. His senses were tingling; this girl was going to be trouble.

"I, Mr. Tennyson, am Spectra Vondergeist, author of the Ghostly Gossip." she said proudly.

"Never heard of you." Ben said with a blank stare.

Spectra's eyes snapped open, a frown splitting across her face. "Of course not. You've been too busy playing with other ghoul's hearts to notice my blog. I assure you, it's _very _popular."

"Still haven't heard of it. And, HEY!" Ben whined, raising his voice. "I'm not sure what you're getting at, but I certainly don't like it!"

Spectra smiled. "Oh please, Ben. Are you really dumb enough to not notice the way Frankie and Robecca look at you? They honestly have a crush on you."

"You mean on Frankenstrike and Clockwork." Ben corrected her, his frown deepening. "And as for that photo, or whatever you've been doing, I can't let you blow my cover. You're gonna have to hand over the iCoffin. _Now._" Ben commanded, reaching out with a waiting hand. Spectra looked appalled and clutched her school bag closer. "You aren't laying a finger on my precious iCoffin!" she shrieked. Before Ben could say anything she swooped down the hallway, out of sight. Ben sighed.

"Why do the bad guys never do what you say?" he sighed. Whether Spectra was truly a bad guy, he did not know. What he _did _know was that he had to catch her before she spilled his secret to the whole school. He quickly tapped the face of the Omnitrix and selected his intended alien before slapping the activation button. The familiar green light covered him, changing his form. His skin turned black and blue, forming racing stripes and sharp arrows as sharp spikes popped out of his slightly more muscled arms. Two large horns that formed a sort of mask sprouted from his face, curving backwards to his off the transformation.

"Fasttrack!" Ben cried out in his high pitched voice. He took a pitcher's stance and then raced down the hall, causing all the locker doors to rip open and clatter against each other as the blue blur sped down the hall after Spectra. After mere seconds of running he saw the young spirit zooming down the hallway. She turned to look behind her and gasped. She quickly dug out her iCoffin and snapped a photo, much to Fasttrack's displeasure, before racing off. Fasttrack kicked it into high gear, chasing after Spectra as they rocketing past the Creepateria. Sandwiches and drinks went flying as Fasttrack sped by like a bullet, too fast for anyone to see.

"This can't be good." Lagoona sighed quietly.

"Ehhhhhhh." Ghoulia agreed.

The mad chase continued for another few minutes before Ben was close enough to Spectra to put his cobbled plan into action. He quickly tapped the Omnitrix symbol on his chest, and felt the Citrakayah suddenly vanish back into the Omnitrix and new DNA starting to flow out.

He felt the skin around his skull slowly vanish, as if some flesh eating parasite were eating at it. His skull slowly turned upside down as the bones ground and shifted with a sickening sound. The teeth became sharper as new, thicker skin covered his face and his eyes molded into one. His fingers turned into dagger like claws that felt like they could slice through someone's soul. His legs wrapped around each other into a sort of ghostly tail as thick, green chains formed around his neck and wrists. The Omnitrix appeared on his chest, the chains all meeting together at the same spot as a dozen writhing tentacles suddenly spilled forth from Ben's insides. The transformation was complete.

Spectra gasped in fright as Ghostfreak howled an unearthly screech and dove after her, rage in his eye as he tackled her to the ground and pinned her wrists to the floor. Spectra cried out and struggled to free herself, not use to the feeling of being touched by anyone. "Give me the phone!" Ghostfreak rasped, bringing his mouth-less face closer to hers. Spectra continued to struggle as Ghostfreak lifted her off the ground and passed through a wall into a dusty storage closet. Voice's could be heard outside as Ghostfreak remained silent with a hand clasped over Spectra's mouth. Once the voices passed he turned his attention back to Spectra. "Give me the phone already!" he hissed. By now, Spectra was quivering, shaking even as Ghostfreak reached into her school bag and pulled out her phone. He quickly scrolled through it, deleting anything that was related to him, texts, pictures, videos, and all.

Spectra was now crying as Ghostfreak released her from his grasp, curled up in a corner surrounded by boxes and old books. Silvery tears dripped from her eyes and onto the dusty floor. Ghostfreak finished with the iCoffin and looked over at the young phantom, unsure of what to do. "Um, are you okay?" he asked, drifting over to her. Spectra sniffed and snatched her phone back from the Ectonurite. "Do you have any idea how long it took for me to come up with this story!?" she sniffed. "My blog's been losing viewers! This story was supposed to save it, keep it alive!" she wailed. Ghostfreak backed off a bit. "Um . . ."

"I am nothing without my blog! I _need _to report the news! It's the only thing in my undead life worth living for!" she cried.

"Okay! Okay! Okay! Just stop crying!" Ghostfreak begged. Spectra stopped balling, but the Ectonurite could see small tears forming in the corners of her eyes. He was going to have to work fast. He sighed. "Okay, look. I can't have you spilling my secret yet. If I help you get more viewers on your blog, will you stay quiet?" he asked. Spectra thought about it for a moment. On one hand, he was offering to make her blog a success, as long as she could keep her lips shut. _And_ if this thing worked out, she could have him under her fingers, and she could have a hit story every day of the week! This normie boy could be her way to fame! _Wait, wait. I'm getting ahead of myself, _she thought. "Deal." she said with slight reluctance. She had no idea what he had in mind, and that was what worried her. At least a little bit.

* * *

"Run me through the plan again?" Spectra asked Ben. It was well past school hours. While there were night classes, the two teens were hidden away in the dank catacombs that ran under the school. Personally, Ben had no idea such a place had existed right underneath the school, and he had to admit he was both impressed and frightened. The cold, cobblestone walls seem to grow haunting faces before his very eyes in the flickering light of the torches that lined the walls. Mildew and dust abounded, not to mention the numerous cobwebs that hung from the ceiling. How Operetta, a ghoul who had only heard of and never actually seen, managed to practically live down here was beyond him. And the occasional noises that sounded like hideous demons licking their chomps weren't easing his weariness. "Right! The plan," he breathed. In truth, he had no idea if the story would work or not, but he had to try. "Basically, I turn into an alien and you take a photo as if you have run into me without me noticing. If there's one thing people can't resist, it's unusual creatures lurking under their very noses." Ben grinned. Spectra remained indifferent as she floated a good half a dozen feet in the air.

"That's technically lying. And I _never _post a false story. _Never._" she insisted with a huff. Ben rolled his eyes. "_Technically, _it's not lying. _Technically, _there _are _strange creatures lurking around here. At least when I turn into them. So really, it's not lying. Just stretching the truth a little bit. And from what I've gathered, you tend to do that a lot without getting all the facts straight." Ben argued, knowing he had easily won the small battle. During the last few hours of the day he had managed to sneak a peek at Spectra's blog, and he could easily tell that most of the stories were more fiction than fact. She really _was _in need of more viewers.

Spectra sighed. "Alright. Pick an alien." she said with reluctance. Ben nodded and activated the Omnitrix, slapping on the watch's face without even looking at who he had selected. The familiar green light flashed over him, and the transformation began. Deep orange fur sprouted all over his body, as if a bomb filled with hair suddenly exploded inside of him. His lower jaw jutted out as his teeth became sharp and menacing. The wave of fur raced over his face, covering his eyes as they suddenly vanished all together. He could feel his ears disappearing as what felt like gills take their place. In actuality, they were sensitive ears able to pick up the tiniest of sounds. His shoulders and arms swelled as his dull nails became sharp claws. His legs twisted and formed into the hind legs of that of a dog as a thick green color appeared around his neck, the Omnitrix symbol in the middle. Wildmutt let out an unearthly roar that echoed through the catacombs for several minutes, getting fainter and fainter as it raced into the nooks and crannies of the school.

"Impressive," Spectra smiled. "let's get started!" she practically squealed.

* * *

It was a cold night. The moon was full and the clouds hung low over the school grounds as a cloud of bats flew past the moon. The wind whispered gently through the courtyard until it suddenly picked up, twisting into a small tornado that picked up leaves and twigs. A bright, pink flash swept across the courtyard, forming into a spinning portal at least a dozen feet above the ground. The faint screams of a girl could be heard they she suddenly emerged, dropping down to the ground and landing on her face from the swirling portal. She lay there as the portal gave a roar and suddenly closed up, returning the dark night to its former silence. The girl groaned and picked herself up from the cobblestone, rubbing her aching head. Her white hair tipped with lavender flowed in the breeze, her purple jacket tugging at her in the cold breeze. "Where am I?" she wondered aloud.

Charmcaster staggered to her feet, dusting herself off. She had originally been trying to find another way out of Ledgerdomain when she was suddenly sucked into a portal and brought here, wherever that was. "Hmm? What's that?" she asked what seemed to be no one. She reached for the bag clipped to her belt and held it up to her ear. "Yes, I rather do like the look of this place." she said aloud. To anyone watching, she would have seemed crazy, talking to herself. "What's that? No, I don't sense any power . . . . what, yes I do. Hmm." she hummed to herself. "What? Are you sure?" she asked before violet eyes flashed pink. "Yessssssss . . . . . . " she whispered.

* * *

"Okay, Ben! I think that's enough for now!" Spectra practically giggled. The two teens had spent the last hour doing a sort of photo shoot, Spectra taking threatening pictures of Wildmutt, Goop, Four Arms, Wildvine, and Humungousaur, all looking incredibly alarming in the dim lighting of the catacombs. "We should probably call it a night," Ben yawned. "I'm about ready to _drop dead._" she joked, laughing. Spectra rolled her eyes, but smiled non the less. "You can stay at my place, if you want." the ghost girl offered him. Ben shrugged his shoulders. "Sure." It was late, and he still technically had no where to sleep. Any place sounded good to him.

Minutes later, thanks to a speedy ride from Fasttrack, the duo stood in front of a rotting manshion, it's Gothic towers seeming to hold up the very sky itself. A low stone wall with a wrought iron fence surrounded the land as an owl hotted from somewhere. "You live here?" Ben asked in a nervous voice. "Yep! Just me, myself, and I. What, are you afraid of ghosts?" she taunted. Ben smirked. "Of course not! I'm afraid of _peacocks_. A night in a haunted house is nothing!"

Spectra merely smiled and pulled in the house, accidentally hitting him against the old oak doors before she realized he couldn't pass through solid objects like she could. "Sorry!" she apologized as Ben rubbed his sore head. "No problem," he moaned, pulling on one of the lion shaped door handles. Suddenly, the handle moved, it's mouth opening to show its sharp teeth as it roared! "GAGH!" Ben yelped in surprise, jumping as the handle glared at him and went back to its resting poistion. Ben could hear laughter as Spectra tumbled and twirled in the air above him, laughing her guts (if she had any) out. "That never gets old!" she whooped. Ben frowned and marched up to the door and yanked it open, only wincing once as the door handle bit into his finer in protest. Ben huffed and pulled the door behind him, Spectra floating through them and levitating next to him. "Well! Here we are!" she said happily, gesturing to the stacks of covered furniture and dusty boxes. "You can sleep on the sofa tonight." she said, gesturing to an old velvet sofa covered in a tarp. Ben walked over and yanked it off, screaming in fright as a large rat hissed at him and dashed off to the kitchen. Ben exhaled and sat on the couch, which was surprisingly comfy after who knows how long.

"Where do you normally sleep?" Ben asked Spectra. Spectra shrugged. "Here, there, everywhere. I can't exactly sleep in a normal bed like everyone else does." she said with remorse. "It's one of the many things I miss about being alive. I can't even remember how I died." she sighed, floating up the stairs to the second floor where she had her laptop hooked into one of the few outlets in the place. She was lucky that the place still have electricity provided from somewhere. Ben felt sorry for the poor spirit. She barely even knew who she was, and all she had going for her was a popular blog that was slowly fading away. All of that rested on his shoulders. Ben sighed and lay down on the sofa, folding his arms behind his head when he realized there wasn't a pillow. "G'night, Spectra." he said quietly.

"Good night, Ben. See you in the morning." Spectra's moaning voice came from the second floor.

Ben's eyes widened for a second before he smiled. Another friend in this crazy, mixed up world. Maybe spilling his secret wouldn't be such a bad thing after all.

**And I end the chapter there! What the heck is Charmcaster doing here? Who Ben meet next? What is Zs'Skayer up to (more on that next chapter)? Why am I asking you all these meaningless questions? Please review, and remember! It's lonely at the top! I'd love to see more stories of the same genera!**

**Hasta Luego!**


	5. Burn, Baby, Burn

**And I'm back! It turns out I've had more time on my hands than I know what to do with! Do not expect this to be a recurring thing however.**

**Anyways, I have an announcement to share with all; A very good friend of mine who has given me excellent ideas for this story has once again helped me! And so, I thought it only fair to help them. As I've mentioned in my previous chapter, I have felt beyond lonely being the only Ben 10/Monster High crossover out there, and this reader has felt pity. They have posted "plot bunnies" on the Ben 10/Monster High forums, and have asked me to share this information will all of you.**

**Special thanks to _menatron_!**

**As another reader has mention, this story has been quite bland without any of the classic Ben 10 action, and so it shall commence! Thank you, _Codecrash _for reminding me of this important detail!**

**On with the story!**

"Ben! Ben!"

Ben groaned and cracked open an eye to see his whole vision filled with a pair of translucent, violet orbs. He screamed in surprise and rolled off the couch, landing on the floor with a dull _thud_. "What is it, Spectra?" he groaned, rubbing his sore skull.

"There's a fire at 13th Bloodsucker Street!" Spectra said with excitement, tightly clutching her iCoffin in her see through hands.

"And this makes you happy how?" Ben asked confused as he pulled himself off the floor, swiping off dust and invisible cobwebs from his sleeves. Spectra's smile got even bigger. "It means I have news to report! Come on!" she squealed.

"Wait, why do I have to come? Not that I don't want to." he added quickly. While Spectra was a good friend, he wasn't sure if she would hesitate to kick him out of her house if he didn't somehow pull his weight around. The young ghost rolled her eyes. "_Because, _if you rescue anyone or put the fire out, I'll get more views on my blog if I report it! _And, _all the good publicity could be good for your image. You can't stay hidden forever you know." she said with a sly smile, knowing he couldn't refuse her this time. Ben sighed. "Fine. Lets go."

* * *

They quickly arrived at the location of the previously mentioned fire to see a large apartment building ablaze. Flames spat forth like angry dragons from the windows and doors, spewing hot fire out of the chimney and air vents. Down below, groups of monsters that had been forced out of their homes huddled together, watching the building burn to the ground as the fire department battled the hot coals. The fire truck, while looking like a normal one, was different in some ways. The front bender resembled a fanged maw, and clawed hands curved themselves over the front and back fires. The hose was attached to the back like a tail, with ladders on top like sharp spikes. Lone screams could be heard within the building, helpless residents left to die in the flames as the firefighters tried relentlessly to enter. Every time, they were forced out by a wave of searing flames, like mice running away from a broom that was trying to whack them. The fire seemed determined to keep the officials out, and the helpless victims in as it ate away at the building's foundations and walls.

"Well, what are you for, Ben? Do you're thing!" Spectra urged him, knocking him lose from his thoughts. "Oh. Right." he said sheepishly. He tapped the Omnitrix and selected his intended alien before slapping the activation button.

His skin started to harden, becoming unbearably hot and solid as rock. It suddenly split apart, floating like bath toys on a rapidly appearing magma sea. Hot, molten lava swirled and pushed it's way through the cracks and crevices of his skin as Ben's bones literally melted away. His hair began to burn, smoke curling lightly off it until it burst into flames, causing Spectra to yelp in surprise. His fingers disappeared altogether as white hot lava covered them and solidified into a sort of gelatin like substance. His toes melted into two digits that resembled claws as his eyes turned bright yellow.

"Heatblast? Seriously? I was hoping for XLR8, but I guess this is better." he said aloud with an exasperated tone.

"How does that possibly help the problem? There's already enough fire to begin with!" she exclaimed, snapping a quick picture. The Pyronite gave a slight smile. "You'll see." was all he said. The ground beneath his feet suddenly rumbled until it suddenly ripped free to become a single floating piece. Striking a quick pose for Spectra he flew off, riding the boulder like a surfboard as he rocketed toward the air. Before long he was over the burning building, the crowd beneath him yelling and pointing upward with worried expressions. "Don't worry! I got this!" he yelled, though he was pretty sure none of them had much faith in a dude who was already on fire. Before anyone could protest, he angled the rock downward and rushed toward the burning apartment, crashing right through the roof and into a red hot room below. He leaped off the boulder and looked around. It appeared he was in a kid's bedroom of some sort, with the equivalent of a teddy bear sitting on a smoking bed. Heatblast quickly grabbed the stuffed skeleton and held in his hand as he listened carefully.

"Waaaaaah! Help!" a small voice cried, not too far away.

"Hang on! I'm coming!" the Pyronite yelled. The cry for help had come from the nearby closet. Heatblast grabbed hold of the door knob concentrated until the metal piece melted in his hands. He just hoped whoever was on the other side wasn't standing too close to the molten liquid. The cries for help got louder, and Heatblast quickly decided to rip the door off its hinges. He grabbed hold of the door frame and yanked back, cracks forming in the wall. Another pull, and the door was yanked off its hinges and fed to the fast approaching fire behind him. Heatblast gazed into the smoke filled closet to see a little vampire girl dressed in purple footie pajamas with little black bats all over them. She looked up at him with wide, green eyes. "Are you a fireman?" she asked with a scared voice.

"Nope. I'm a superhero, kid." Heatblast answered. "Lets get you outta here. I assume this is yours?" he asked handing her the stuffed skeleton. The young monster stole from his grasp and cuddled it graciously as Heatblast picked her up in his arms, it taking all his will power to not let the flames that encased his body to consume her. He pulled her out of the closet and ran over to an open window, the glass having been melted in the extreme heat. He quickly jumped out of it and tucked in his head and legs as he fell to the pavement below, protecting the little vampire until he hit the ground. He gently set her down and watched as she ran to join her worried parents. A bright flash of light indicated Spectra had taken another photo.

And then came the firefighters.

Without warning, four firefighters rushed up to him, holding fire extinguishers in their hands, all the hose aimed directly at him. "No! Wait! Don't shoot!" Ben cried as white foam gushed forth from the canisters and washed over him, turning him into something that resembled an ugly snowman. The dancing flames that surrounded his head sizzled out, and he glared at the firefighters with loathing. "I so did not need." he hissed, wiping the white froth off of his arms and legs. The firemen looked at him with sheepish expressions as he suddenly burst back into flames, as if nothing happened.

"Everyone here!?" he yelled aloud. One by one, the panicked families yelled 'yes', indicating that all of their loved ones had been rescued and were safe and sound. "Good. Now watch, as the Amazing Heatblast makes your fire problem . . . . disappear!" he yelled in a dramatic fashion. The crowd looked at him with confused looks as he spun around on his heel and put up his hands. He concentrated heavily on the burning building before him, imagining the fire to come to him, to _become _him. The flames responded after a few seconds of hesitation, flying up into the night sky and flowing back down to Heatblast's hands as he absorbed the fire, let it join the eternal flame that burned at his very core. Slowly, the burning embers and coals left the rubble of the building, the fire's vanishing as if they had never been there, though the wreckage proved otherwise. Before long, ever last bit of fire was gone, just chard remains of the building's skeleton being that all remained. The crowd watched with stunned silence as Heatblast turned around and gave a short bow.

The crowd gave a thunderous applause and cheers as the young vampire girl broke free from her mother's grasp to run up to Heatblast and hug his leg, her little skeleton clutched tightly in her hand. Heatblast grinned and patted her lightly on the head. "Stay out of trouble, kid." he said with a laugh as he summoned the ground beneath his feet rise. Once more he was airborne, hovering a dozen feet above the ground. "I'll send a friend of mine to fix your building!" he yelled down. "Hasta la vista!" he cried as he seemingly rode the piece of concrete off into the distance. In reality, he was flying just down the block, out of the crowd's sights to make a quick transformation. He flew down into an alley and stowed the broken piece of sidewalk into a dumpster before he tapped the Omnitrix symbol on his chest. In a bright flash of green light, he became Clockwork once more.

The Chronosapien quickly walked down the alleyway and out onto the street where the crowd was starring off into the night where Heatblast had disappeared. Clockwork lightly cleared his throat, grabbing the crowd's attention. "Um, hello. I understand you have a building in need of repair?" he inquired with his thick German voice. The little vampire nodded her head, running back to her mother as Clockwork approached the building. "I suggested you all take a step back." Clockwork told the crowd. No sooner had he said the words did the entire crowd of monsters take a big step back. Clockwork then stepped in front of the building and raised his arms, the key like protrusion on his head spinning backwards at a fast pace. Before the world around could once again slow down, he imagined the green energy within himself aimed at the rumble of the building.

Slowly, the bricks rose into the air, as if carried by invisible hands. They stacked themselves back into black as invisible mortar was placed down. The melted pools of concrete pillars suddenly flowed backwards, as if being sucked up by a straw, and solidified themselves into the foundations of the building. Broken doors pulled themselves together and the windows reappeared as if my magic. The area surrounding the building was traveling back through time, before the fire had caused chaos. The crowd watched in wonder as broken tables and chard chairs snapped back together. Splintered beds molded themselves back together as the soot filled carpets were cleaned, as if a giant invisible vacuum had sucked it up. The plasters walls repaired themselves as Clockwork concentrated on turning back the clock until the building was brand new. Panting, he dropped his arms and the protrusion on his head stopped spinning. "You might want to go in there and find out whatever caused the fire, unless you want to have to do this whole mess all over again." he told the firemen. The officials nodded and dashed into the building as the crowd gave another round of applause. Clockwork waved a goodbye and trudged back down the street, just as the firemen came out with a flaming wastebasket, which was quickly put out with a fire extinguisher.

The Chronosapien quickly disappeared down another alley way and slapped the Omnitrix symbol on his chest, reverting back to his human form. A few moments later, Spectra appeared through another wall next to him, a big smile on her white face. "How'd I do?" he asked her.

"Fantastic!" she practically squealed. She flipped through her photos, capturing hundreds of perfect shots of Ben rescuing the little vampire, commanding the flames to be put out, flying on the boulder, even the little vampire hugging Heatblast. "I even got a video of you repairing the building!"

"Cool! We better head over to school before Headmistress yells at us." Ben said with a wide grin. "You can post what you need on the way."

* * *

The pair stood hidden behind a large shrub just in front of the school's front gate, the bush's branches concealing them as Ben fiddled with the Omnitrix. Spectra hovered impatiently nearby, eager to get within Wifi range to post her blog. "Come on! My viewers can't wait any longer!" she said. Ben rolled his eyes. "Give me a moment . . . and there! Lets go!" he yelled, slapping the activation button. The familiar green light encased him, changing him at the molecular level. Ben's arms became more muscular, his legs stronger and longer. He soon became so big that he lost his shirt, it being torn off his body and tossed away. His skin became patchwork, stitches holding random colored flesh together as the Omnitrix symbol appeared on his right pectoral. Metallic bolts sprouted up from his shoulders, wrists, and neck as thick black hair sprouted from his head and down to his chin, stopping. The final transformation was the sudden growth of two large conductor like coils, crackling with electricity. Ben crashed his fists together, a surge of electricity coursing through his conductors.

"Yes! Frankenstrike's back!" he yelled in triumph. Spectra smiled and rolled her eyes as the two stepped out from behind the bush and entered the courtyard. Spectra forced herself to remain silent as the two walked along, everyone looking at Frankenstrike with a mixture of surprise and shock. "Sooo, how do you think Frankie will react to seeing me again?" he asked when he was suddenly slammed into from the side! The pair tumbled through the courtyard and slammed into a tree. "Frankenstrike! You're back!" Frankie cried, hugging him tightly. "I was so worried about you!"

"Uhh, yeah. Why were you worried about again?" Frankenstrike asked as he picked himself up and pulled the young cadaver up from the ground with a large hand. Nearby were Cleo, Clawdeen, Draculaura, Ghoulia, and Spectra, all attempting to stay hidden and keeping from bursting out into laughter. Frankie turned a deep shade of red. "Um, no reason!" she said perhaps a little too quickly. "Just concerned for your safety, that's all." she said with a nervous laugh. Frankenstrike looked at her with a confused look. "You do realize I'm probably more than twice your size, right?" he asked with disbelief. Frankie turned an even deeper shade of red as the rest of ghouls walked over. "So, Frankenstrike? Where have you been lurking all this time?" Cleo asked with a sly grin.

"Oh, um, I was working on finding a place to crash." Frankenstrike lied. While the lie wasn't _exactly _complete nonsense, how did one explain that they were hiding in the bodies of other supposed monsters? "Spectra was kind enough to let me crash at her place last night." he told Frankie. Frankie blinked and looked back and forth between the large monster before him and the transparent ghost behind her. _Do they have a thing? _she wondered. _Are they just good friends? Oh please, for the love of Sphinx let them just be friends!_

"Anyway, did you ghouls see the news about the fire?" Frankenstrike asked. The ghouls all shook their friends, Specta's face splitting into a broad grin. "Excellent! You can be the first to hear about on my blog! It's so awesome, you won't believe it! And I have all the proof I need, too!" Spectra exclaimed with excitement. The ghouls all looked at each other and then reached for their iCoffins when an earth shattering explosion rocked the school grounds. A large cloud of smoke rose from the back of the school as all the windows on the first floor shattered at once. Students began running in fright as large tentacles suddenly ripped out the earth, grabbing and reaching for them. A giant Mayan wheel came out of no where, rolling down the courtyard and chasing a group of unfortunate students.

"What's happening!?" Frankenstrike yelped as they all fell to the ground.

"Oh, no! It's Hoodude!" Frankie cried with worry.

"Who?"

**Yeah, sorry this was so short. I just wasn't into it as I hoped I would be.**

**Things are about to get loco! Zs'skayer is still lurking around somewhere, Charmcaster's in hiding, and now the school seems to be on the brink of utter destruction! What will happen, and how long will it be before Ben's secret is out!? As always, please review and comment on the story and tell me how I'm doing. And don't forget about the forums!**

**I DON'T WANT TO BE ALONE!**

**(I sound incredibly pathetic, don't I ;)**


	6. A Dragon Tail

**I'm back! Hopefully with a better chapter than last time. Anyway, I have read your reviews, and am swamped with ideas! I also have an announcement from a friend of mine.**

_**Menatron the Angel of Ideas **_**has posted a "plot bunny" about a Danny Phantom/Avatar: the Last Airbender crossover, and would be very happy if someone would write about it. Obviously, I feel the same way about more Ben 10/Monster High fanfics. If you are a ****_huge _fan of this story, do not hesitate to write your own story.**

**Now, pitiful begging aside, the story can begin!**

"Who the heck is Hoodude!?" Frankenstrike yelled as the earth shook again.

"He's a voodoo doll made by Frankie," Cleo explained, using Frankenstrike as a support. "Basically, if he has a bad day, _everyone _has a bad day."

"Is he normally this bad?" Frankenstrike asked. Draculaura shook her head. "No, usually it ends up with an entire hallway of the school be obliterated, not the entire school." she explained before something dawned on her. "Quick! What day is it!?" she asked in a desperate tone. Clawdeen pulled out her iCoffin and looked it up, a look of horror crossing her face. "Friday the 13th." she gulped. "Aaaand that's bad, right?" Frankenstrike asked. Every ghoul jerked their heads up and down. "Well then, it looks like I'm gonna have to take care of it. Spectra?" he asked turning to the ghost. She gave him a thumbs up and followed him as he towards the school, the ghouls each sharing confused looks.

Frankenstrike rushed into the school, smashing right through the front doors with ease. On the bright side, if anyone were to question the damage, they would assume it was Hoodude at fault. Spectra was following close behind, iCoffin at the ready. The school was a mess, locker doors ripped off their hinges, lockers ripped from the walls, walls ripped the school. Frogs hopped freely among the mess of books and papers that spilled forth from lockers, and something with tentacles was lurking just around the corner. "One kid did all this? Geez." Frankenstrike marveled.

"Hello? Anyone there?" a voice called out.

"Who said that?" Frankenstrike called out, following the sound of the voice down another hallway, avoiding a small fire on the left side of the hallway. "Keep talking!" Frankenstrike yelled as he skidded to a stop outside of a bathroom door marked "Ghouls". That is, if you could see the door behind the mound of rubble that separated them. "Of course." he sighed as a flash of green light engulfed him, changing him back to his original form. "What was that?" the voice asked from the other side of the door. "Uh, power shortage?" Ben tried, making his voice deeper than it originally was. "Just give me a sec." he said as turned the Omnitrix on and cycled through the list. "What do you think? Humungousar? Heatblast?" he asked Spectra shrugged. "I don't know. I can at least go in and see who's on the other side." she said before floating right through the wall and into the bathroom beyond. Ben sighed and continued to cycle through his list. At least it was _something _like when he was on missions with Rook.

"Hello? Who's in here?" Spectra asked as she moved her full body through the wall with ease. The lights in the bathroom were dim, making the shades of pink and purple all the more creepy. A soft light caught her eye towards the back of the restroom, towards where a couple of the sinks were. She floated down to see a girl hiding under the sink, a small pile of plaster and wood burning at her feet as she hugged herself tightly. "Spectra? Oh, thank goodness! I was worried we might be trapped in here for eternity." the girl said with a sigh of relief. She was dressed in a violet qipao with scale like patterns. She wore a pair of dull yellow high heels with a sort of headdress in her green and black hair. A golden scaled tail curled around her knees, clearly marking her as a Chinese Dragon from Fanghai, Jinafire if Spectra remembered correctly.

"What do you mean "we"? Aren't you in here by yourself?" Spectra asked. Jinafire shook her head sadly. "Unfortunately, no. Venus was unfortunate enough to be in here as well when disaster struck, and she was struck on the head by a piece of falling ceiling. To make matters worse, the heating system in the school has been damaged, and no longer works. She is incredibly cold." the young dragon said, touching the arm of an unconscious green monster next to her. The girl had bright green and hot pink hair shaved on one side and combed over to the other wrapped around her like blanket. Smalls vines curled around her arms, legs, and neck. Small, sharp teeth curved over her ruby red lips. She wore a blue vest over a multicolor shirt and skirt, wearing a pair of hot pink boots with a row of sharp teeth at the front. She moaned and turned over, away from the small fire. Jinafire moved her closer to the flame, careful so she wouldn't catch fire.

"What is that smell?" Jinafire asked, sniffing the air. Spectra sniffed nearly gagged, having noticed a repulsive smell coming from somewhere in the room. "I sure how that isn't what I think it is." she said with a worried voice when there came a sudden explosion towards the front of the bathroom, the door and wreckage from outside smashing into the wall in front of it. The girls covered their eyes and starred into the sudden haze to see a tall figure walking towards them. He was tall and muscled, and was surprisingly plant-like. Large red thorns dotted his arms and shoulders, a large, leafy green collar sprouting up from his neck. He had thorn like objects on his feet, and a bright red, yellow, and orange face that looked like a fiery flower in bloom. "Is everyone okay?" the being asked.

Jinafire shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Yes. We are fine. Most of us anyway." she said, gesturing to Venus. The plant creature nodded and reached under the sink, carefully lifting the unconscious monster off the floor and slinging her over his shoulder. He then helped Jinafire to his feet, and she noticed that he was unusually warm. "Why are you so unusual warm?" she asked politely as the small gang exited the bathroom. "I have a natural ability to create fire," the monster explained, holding out a hand and lighting it ablaze, a ball of hot flame appearing. "They don't call me Swampfire for nothing." he chuckled. "That explains the smell." Jinafire said, waving a hand in front of her face. Swampfire was about to retort when a movement caught his eye. He turned to see through a cloud of ash a thin figure approaching them, a mop of yarn like hair in his head and two different colored buttons for eyes. He wore a Monster High letter jacket with a stitched heart over his right chest and needles and pins sticking out at random intervals. He had a sullen look on his face, his stitch covered mouth turned into a frown. Several piranhas were clamped onto his hands, a bear trap around his shoulder, a bucket jammed onto his foot, and what looked like an electric eel wrapped around his head.

"Is that who I think it is?" Swampfire whispered.

"Indeed. That is Hoodude. I would caution you to careful around him." Jinafire warned the Methanosian. He nodded and gently lay Venus on the floor before igniting his hands, waiting for the voodoo doll to strike. The monster ignored him, moping as he walked by and kicked aside a piece of debris. "Ow!" Swampfire cried, clutching his foot and hissing in pain.

"Sorry." Hoodude mumbled.

"What's wrong, Hoodude?" Spectra asked.

Hoodude sighed and turned to face them. "I don't know! Everything and everyone is against me, I tell you! It's such a tragedy! " he cried, spreading his arms in an over dramatic fashion and accidentally knocking over a ladder. The ladder crashed into a door frame with a horseshoe nailed into it, tilting it upside down as a black cat suddenly came out of nowhere and ran past them, dashing down a hall and out of sight. "I'm going to assume that's bad, right?" Swampfire asked, extinguishing his hands. The girls bit their lips and nodded as the entire school began to shake and cracks began to form in the floor.

"RUN!" Swampfire cried, grabbing Venus off the ground and grabbing hold of Hoodude, throwing both monsters over his shoulder and running down the opposite hallway with Spectra and Jinafire close behind, away from said trembling and quaking. A low, hollow roar echoed through the school and the ground shook even more violently, if that was even possible. "What's going on?" Swampfire asked over the roar, turning a sharp corner and running towards the Creepateria.

"I pray it is not what I think it to be." Jinafire shouted as they all dived behind an upturned lunch table. Hoodude groaned and sulked with his back to them, Venus lying asleep next to him. They peeked over the edge of the table, expecting something horrible to come at them and trying to devour them with salt and pepper. But nothing close to that even happened; the shaking and the bellowing just continued on without stopping. "What are we up against?" Swampfire asked Jinafire. The young gulped nervously, her hands nervously playing with her hair. "I fear it might be the Kraken." she nervously.

"Who with the what now?" Swampfire asked confused.

"Rumor has it that there's a huge sea monster that lurks in the pool of Monster High," Spectra explained. "It's the deepest in the world, almost never ending." she added when Swampfire just looked at her with a confused face. "So, where is said terrible beastie?" he asked. He soon got his answer when the floor in front of them suddenly exploded, massive purple and black tentacles spilling forth and filling the Creepateria, smashing lunch tables and everything else as it seemed to be searching for something, most likely food. "Uh, should we be running?" Swampfire asked.

"YES!" Spectra yelped as she suddenly disappeared in flash of greenish light. Swampfire just stared at the spot where she had been, but his attention was quickly ripped away by a shadow cast over them, a massive tentacle dripping with slime and covered in razor sharp hooks preparing to smash down on them and rag them kicking and screaming to the depths. "Run!" Swampfire yelled for the second time, grabbing Venus and Hoodude and leaping out of the way just as the tentacle came crashing down, smashing the lunch table to bits. Jinafire lay at his side, dazed but unhurt otherwise. "How do we get out of here?" Swampfire asked her, and the young dragon pointed toward a large hole in the wall leading out to what appeared to be an outside dining area. Swampfire didn't question and dashed through the hole, ducking his head as a withering tentacle chased after them, thrashing as anger when they escaped just out of his reach. A loud roar shook the grounds, and a dozen more tentacles suddenly ripped the top most tower of the school off, sending it plummeting to the courtyard, where it was smashed into hundreds of pieces. Students continued to run about in a mad fashion, screaming and yelling in panic as Swampfire and his small posse took cover behind a large oak tree. The Methanosian gently leaned Venus against the trunk of the tree before returning his attention back to the Kraken.

"How do you stop this thing!?" he cried over the noise.

"I am not sure," Jinafire admitted. "If I remember correctly tough, sea creatures are not all that fond of fire." Swampfire grinned when he heard that, running off to with hands ablaze to do what he did best. Jinafire raised an eyebrow; this was not what she was expecting from someone like him. While he did look like the brave type, she pictured him as more of the guy that would run away from a fight instead of dive head first into it.

Swampfire raised his hands and let loose a wave of fire on a nearby tentacle, grinning with satisfaction when he heard the monster scream in pain. The tentacle rose up into the air and came crashing, sending a labyrinth of cracks through the courtyard grounds. The tentacle swept across the grounds, forcing Swampfire to jump over it as it came at him. He slung another fire ball at the tentacle and watched it withdraw back into the school. "One down, almost a dozen more to go." he sighed. This was going to take forever, especially since none of the students possessed adequate fire abilities. Technically, that wasn't true. There was always that one guy, Heath Burns, but he had a habit of setting fire to things that weren't supposed to be burned, or shouldn't have been able to burn in the first place. Just like that one time he had set fire to the school's pool when it was full of water. Not even Headmistress Bloodgood had been able to figure that one out.

"Move!" Jinafire cried, crashing into him and sending both of them to the ground as a rogue tentacle swung over their hands. "Thanks." Swampfire said with relief at not having to regrow a head. "It was my pleasure. Now, shall we dispose of this horrid creature?" the young dragon asked with a sly grin. Swampfire smiled and pulled him and Jinafire up as they faced the monster together when an idea struck him. "Hey, Hoodude!" he called, grabbing the voodoo doll's attention. "You wanna be helpful for once!?"

Hoodude vigorously shook his head. He had spent the better part of his undead life trying to avoid hurting someone. The other half had been trying to woo Frankie, but that had proven to be virtually impossible. She had made it clear that while she did like him, she just didn't like him that way. That didn't stop him from trying though. Impossible not to; he was programmed to love Frankie in every possible way. He was literally made for her, _by _her. So, if there was ever a chance to make himself look like a hero, especially to Frankie, now was the time. "See if you can use your freaky voodoo stuff on the Kraken! Aim for the tentacles!" Swampfire cried as a jet of flame was fired out of Jinafire's mouth, singing a cracking tentacle with ease. The tendril rose up into the air and came smashing down, Swampfire catching it in his hands and holding it up just before it crushed her. He then focused his anger and felt the fiery sensation in his hands that signaled the methane in his body had been lit.

A disgusting smell filled the air as flames consumed the writhing tentacle, the Kraken squealing in agony as the fire raced up the arm and back towards the head, where it would most likely be extinguished in the churning waters. The odds of that same tentacle returning however, were slim. For the next couple of heart rushing moments, Jinafire and Swampfire worked as a team, simultaneously working to push the tentacles back with hot coals and jets of flame that made the air smell like fried calamari. Hoodude, always happy and ready to help, focused on turning his horrible luck on the Kraken, using every trick he knew. All he had to simply do was touch a cracking tentacle without getting caught and then subject himself to horrible amounts of pain he could fortunately not feel. Occasionally, a stray ember would meet his cloth skin and burst into flame, but this usually worked in their favor as long as it was put out fairly quickly. Soon, the trio of mismatched heroes were down to just half a dozen giant tentacles after what seemed hours.

"Why won't this thing die!?" Swampfire cried as a tentacle suddenly wrapped itself around him.

* * *

"Venus?"

Someone was calling to her. She moaned and rolled over, silently wishing for the voice to go away. Her head hurt like crazy and all she wanted to do was sink back into the soft, warm bed of unconsciousness.

"Venus!"

She moaned again and cracked open her eyes to see a pair of large, bright, violet colored orbs only inches away from hers. She gave a startled yelp and jolted backwards, hitting her head against the trunk. She hissed in pain and clutched the sore spot as her vision came back to her. "Sorry!" Spectra apologized, backing up to an appropriate distance. Venus moaned again and sat up. She looked around to find herself out in the courtyard. How had she ended up there?

**BOOM!**

And what was all that racket? She struggled to her feet, leaning against the trunk for support, and peeked out behind it to see half a dozen giant tentacles slithering across the courtyard, smashing through things and knocking them over with ease as three figures fought against them. The first, she easily recognized as Hoodude. She felt a pain of slight irritation toward him. After all, he had caused most of the trouble in the school and was the entire reason why her head was pounding like a giant drum set. The second figure took her a bit longer to remember. She soon figured it to be Jinafire after she blew a wave of fire from her jaws at a giant tendril. The third figure however, was a complete mystery to her. And why did she feel a sort of attraction to him?

"Who is that guy?" Venus asked Spectra, her face turning an incredibly light shade of red. So much so that if you didn't look closely, you wouldn't have known it was there. Spectra however, had seen several times ever since Ben had shown up and identified it easily. The young spirit grinned as she looked over Venus's shoulder, pointing with a near translucent finger. "That's Swampfire," she said with a slight smile. "He rescued you and Jinafire from the Kraken, and from the looks of it could use your help. You up for it?" she asked, pulling out her iCoffin to take a picture of the fight. Venus slowly nodded and staggered out into the open. She had an idea of what to do, but she wanted Swampfire's attention before doing it. While she normally wasn't one to flirt or impress a boy, she somehow couldn't resist with this one. It were as if she had somehow used her own Pollen of Persuasions on herself.

She stabbed both fingers to her lips and blew a shrill whistle. All three heads instantly whipped around to look at her, and even the tentacles seemed to pause for a bit. "Heads up!" she cried as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a handful of seeds that she cast on the ground. She quickly reached into her other pocket and pulled out a spritz bottle containing some kind of liquid. She then quickly squirted the seeds she had thrown on the ground and watched as roots began to grow and sink into the ground, stalks and leafy tendrils reach for the sky. Seconds passed before the plants were taller than the surrounding trees and topped with razor sharp thorns. In the center of each plant was a large cavernous mouth ringed with sharp teeth like a Venus Flytrap. The plants let out a loud, animal-like roar and engaged the Kraken's tentacles with fleshy tentacles of its own. The Kraken bellowed and wrestled with the plant monster's tendrils as Venus climbed up the large stalk to direct her creation's movements.

"Hey, don't start the party without me!" Swampfire cried as he flew open his hand and let a dozen seeds fall to the ground. Without anything to jump start them with, the seeds began to sprout. They too, grew into giant monsters with large, pumpkin like heads that sat on large, fleshy shoulders and a thin, stalk like body. It's large hands were sharp branches that resembled claws. The half a dozen monsters roared and attacked the remaining tentacles, biting savagely into them and clawing at them like mad men as Swampfire yelled at them, flinging fire balls from his hands whenever he could. One tentacle drew back within the skeleton of the school after a savage bite from Venus's plant monster. Another retreated when Jinafire gave it a good smack with a tail followed by a savage kick.

"Keep going! We're almost through!" Swampfire yelled as he jumped up and stopped down on the tip of a tentacle as Hoodude ran up to a tree and gave it a quick kick, a large branch falling out of the tree and smacking him on the head. Swampfire was pretty sure he saw the tree smirk with satisfaction as the Kraken roared in pain again and withdrew the tentacle he was currently attacking back into the school. Venus gave a thumbs up as she finally made it to the top of her monster's head. She pointed with a commanding finger and the sound of the earth being ripped up filled the air as the monster pried itself out of the ground and stood up on its root-like legs. The monster roared and took a step forward, fully engaging the Kraken. It drew back a strong tendril and punched a stray tentacle and watched with satisfaction as it retreated back into the school. Venus smiled as the monster bit into another tentacle, actually biting it off and watching as it fell to the ground. The monster bit off another tentacle and head butted a third until there was only one left. "FIRE!" Venus commanded. The monster bellowed and opened its mouth, unleashing a sudden wave of fire that laid waist to the fighting appendage. The Kraken gave a final cry and whipped out its tentacle, slicing straight through the stalks of Venu's plant monster! The tentacle gave a sudden jerk and pulled itself back into the school as the plant monster's head plummeted to the ground.

"AAAAAAA-HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Venus cried as plant bits fell around her. Now she knew exactly how Robecca felt when her rocket boots failed on her. And she was nowhere near ready to die! The ground was ever approaching. She squeaked and covered her eyes and curled herself into a ball, hoping that the injuries would be minor. She fully expected to fell cold, hard stone, but instead she heard a slight "Oomf!" and felt cool flesh. She cracked open her eyes to see two almond shaped, green eyes looking at her with concern. She fully opened her eyes to see herself in the arms of Swampfire, exactly where she was hoping to someday be. She smiled as her face turned red. "I'm fine. I can't say the same for my poor friend, though." she said sadly, pointing to the remains of her monster. Swampfire nodded and set her down, to the slight disappointment of Venus. He wiped his brow and winced as he felt his bones (did he have bones?) crack. "I'm gonna feel that in the morning." he said with a pained voice. Venus merely laughed when a thought occurred to her.

"Um, Swampfire?" she asked in a timid voice. The Methanosian paused and looked at her. "Yeah?"

"I know we just met and all, but . . . . . . would you, um . . . . . . . go to the dance with me?" she asked suddenly, deciding to get it over with. Swampfire raised an eyebrow. "Who with the what now?" he asked, completely confused. "I don't have the foggiest idea what you're talking about."

Venus laughed. "Every year, our school has a Ghoul's Choice Dance," she explained. "I unfortunately didn't have a date for last year. So, I was wondering if you could be my date for the dance?" she asked. Swampfire blinked. He could feel his heart racing as sweat poured down his forehead. He did have to admit, Venus was hot. Smoking hot, pun totally included. But, if he messed up, how would Frankie feel? She would surely hate him if she found out about everything.

Unfortunately for him, his lips had a mind of their own.

"Sure. Why not?" she said with a shrug. "When's the dance?" he asked.

"Halloween night." Venus said with a smile. "I'll see you there, okay?" she said.

Swampfire merely nodded as Venus smiled, blew him a kiss, and walked away.

"Oh, man. What did I get myself into?" he whined to himself. Suddenly, Spectra appeared out of the ground in front of him, blinding him with a quick camera flash. Swampfire jerked back in surprise, rubbing his eyes. "Hey!" he complained. Spectra smiled. "Sorry," she apologized. She then called for Hoodude and Jinafire to come over, asking for them to pose for a group picture, which they gladly did. After a couple shots, Jinafire turned to Swampfire. "I will admit, I was unsure about fighting along someone who has no clear fighting style," she began. "I will say however, that you have clearly impressed me and that it was an honor to fight alongside you." she said, bowing to him. Swampfire grinned and returned the bow before Jinafire walked off with a friendly wave. Swampfire then turned to Hoodude, who had been awkwardly standing off to the side. Swampfire sighed. "Look, um, Hoodude? Do you wanna go grab a pizza with me and some friends some time?" he asked, feeling sorry for the poor voodoo doll. Hoodude's eyes lit up and threw himself at Swampfire, giving him a big hug. "Oh, yes! Anytime!" he cried happily, bouncing off with a spring in his step. He no longer felt blue, a relief to everyone.

Swampfire merely chuckled as he and Spectra watched the happy voodoo doll run off, content as one could be. "You just made his day, you know." Spectra said after a few moments. "Yeah. I know. I guess I felt sorry for the poor guy. Not his fault he's cursed. Besides, I'm Ben Tennyson! I can handle anything anyone throws at me!" he said proudly, putting his fists on his hips as he struck a pose. "Frankie and friends at 10 o'clock." Spectra suddenly said.

"What!? Where!?" Swampfire cried, nearly losing his balance as Spectra laughed. He turned to see a shaken Frankie, Cleo, Clawdeen, Draculaura, and Ghoulia making their way over to them, though they didn't seem to have noticed Swampfire yet. "Oh, geez!" he cried as he ran behind a tree, slapping the Omnitirx symbol on his stomach and letting the green light encase him, changing him into Frankenstrike. He let out a sigh of relief and peered out from behind the tree to see Frankie and her friends talking with Spectra.

"Have you seen Frankenstrike anywhere?" she asked the ghost. "I wanted to ask him something."

Before Spectra could say something, Frankenstrike stepped out from behind the tree, pretending he had been there the whole time. "What did you want to ask me, Frankie?" he asked, walking up to the group. Frankie jumped in surprise before latching onto him with the biggest of grins on her face. "Oh my ghoul! I thought you were gone again!" she cried, hugging him tighter as her ghoulfriends watched with smirks on their faces. Frankenstrike chuckled. "Ahh, don't worry about me. I was down in the catacombs, fighting the beast from the source. From what I've heard, a friend of my mine was handling things here on the surface and scored himself a date for the dance." he said with laugh. Frankie then let go of him, suddenly feeling nervous about something. "Um, speaking about dances . . . . ." she said nervously, twisting a lock of hair between her fingers. Frankenstrike raised an eyebrow, urging her to go on. "Would you, um, go to the dance with me?" she asked nervously. "If you don't want to, that's still okay!" she interjected quickly.

"I'd love to go."

"What?" Frankie asked, not quite believing what she was hearing.

"I said, I'd love to go to the dance with you. Halloween, right?" he asked. Frankie nodded, not quite processing as Frankie took her hand and gave a quick kiss. "Consider it a date, then." he said, giving a friendly wave as he walked away, Spectra trailing behind him.

"You just dug your own grave, you know." Spectra said as the sounds of girls screaming with joy could be heard behind them.

"What have I gotten myself into?" Frankenstrike wondered, putting his face into his large hands.

**And there's the chapter! I'm sorry if it got kind of off at the end, but I just wanted to get it over with before I right the big one; the Halloween dance. What will happen when Ben has two dates, one night to impress them, and an Omnitrix with a mind of its own? Nothing good, that's for sure.**

**As always, please comment and review below. And feel free to send me your suggestions and ideas for this story, because next chapter is going to be the biggest and longest one yet.**

**Hasta luego!**


	7. Dia de Muertos

**And here is another filler chapter! I apologize if this does not meet up to my standards, but so many of you have been asking for a certain ghoul to come into the picture, and I thought "why not?". So here you go. Enjoy, and don't forget to review!**

**Oh, one more thing; I honestly don't mind it when readers leave me long reviews. It lets me know if I'm doing a good job, and I honestly prefer the long ones to the short ones, believe it or not. So, don't feel bad you type a lot!**

A slim figure crept down the empty halls of Monster High before diving into an abandoned janitors closet. The figure closed the door and breathed a sigh of relief. Everything was still as she had left it; her makeshift bed of towels stolen from the school's pool and cushions from the student lounge was still unmade, and the unlit candle stick still sat on a stack of cardboard boxes. Her few spell books sat at the foot of her bed, still as she had left them. Her pile of discarded clothes lay in a corner. She sighed and slid down the back of the door, straightening her new black jacket. She was a mess; she had just discovered that her worst enemy, Ben Tennyson, had somehow found her knew hiding place. Fortunately, he had been distracted by a large fire when she had stolen her new uniform from the Maul; it was child's play to cast a fire spell to light the waste basket on fire and then lay waste to the building. She sighed again and stood up. It was time for some rest; she could destroy Tennyson in the morning. She yawned and lay down in her bed, pulling the large towels over her body as she fell asleep.

Frankenstrike opened the door that led down to the catacombs, wincing as the rusty hinges echoed in the empty hallway. It was well past midnight, and the school, for the most part, was empty; a few night classes for those monsters who couldn't go out in the daylight, namely most vampires and some ghosts, were elsewhere in the school. Spectra had no idea he had snuck out of her house to head to the school, and he knew that if she ever found out she would be hurt. After all, she did trust him some of her most embarrassing secrets, and he in turn trusted her. And he had to owe the entire night mission to a little note he had found in his locker at the end of the day, written by someone he did not know. All it had asked was for him to meet the mystery writer down in the catacombs after the clock had struck twelve. And that technically wasn't the latest it could get at Monster High; time ran differently here, with one more hour than what Frankenstrike was used to. So instead of a twenty four hour day, it was twenty six, with thirteen hours for the day and night. Frankenstrike found it a little odd, but not that strange; he did after all, have a "magic" watch that could change his form at will.

Frankenstrike clicked the door to the catacombs behind him and let his eyes adjust to the darkness. As Anur Transyl was always pitched into perpetual darkness, the inhabitants had larger eyes than most organisms to allow better night time vision. Transylians were no exception, and Frankenstrike put the handy power to good use as he walked down the cold, cobblestone stairs into the bowels of the catacombs, torches lit in skull shaped holders lining the walls every hundred feet or so. He could hear the constant sound dripping water and the occasional skittering of a mouse or rat as he pushed aside curtains of cobwebs. Hundreds of spiders lurked in them, and they only bothered him for the first half hour as he traveled through the maze of walls, following closely the crude map on the note provided. He twisted around corners and passed through long hallways covered in large molds that draped over the walls and pooled on the floors. Eventually, he came to a large curtain of green. He checked the map and pushed it aside, stepping into a large, domed, chamber. In the center was a small fire pit with a loud, crackling flame at its center. A snow white figure dressed in a black dress with a multicolored skirt. She had a large web of black and marigold streaked hair on her pale head. She looked up when she heard his large footsteps echoing on the stone floor and smiled. Frankenstrike saw that her face resembled a sugar skull, covered in bright, patterned dots and lines as she stood up and walked over to him.

"Greetings, Mr. Strike." the young girl said. "My name is Skelita Calaveras."

"Please, call me Frankenstrike." the Transylian said, taking her hand and giving it a good shake. Unfortunately, he had forgotten his own strength, and tore her hand off! Frankenstrike jumped back in surprise, the stolen limb in his large hands. "Woah! Sorry!" he quickly apologized. The young woman's small laughter caught him off guard a little. "Um, why are you laughing?" he asked, handing her hand back. The girl took the hand back and jabbed it back onto her stubby limb, wiggling her fingers before lowering her arm. "Do not worry; it doesn't hurt in the slightest. I am a skeleton after all."

"Wait. You're a what?" Frankenstrike startled before he looked down and noticed that she had literal bones for legs. He looked up again to see her arms were also bones, her face a pure white skull of literal bone. He jumped back in fright but quickly recomposed himself when he heard the skeleton giggle. He chuckled and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "So, uh, what did you want me here for?" he asked. Skelita motioned for him to sit down at the fire pit as she pulled out two long skewers. She then took her own after handing Frankenstrike his own, and stabbed it into a large pepper. Frankenstrike uncomfortably copied her and put it over the fire like Skelita had done. "Seriously, what did you want to talk about? I doubt it was about roasting red peppers over a campfire." he said uncomfortably. Mostly because the low bench he was sitting on was so small.

"I know this might sound odd, but I sometimes get this feeling in my bones that tells me when something big is going to happen." she explained, slowly turning her pepper over the crackling flames, her gentle voice echoing through the chamber. "The strange thing is, is that it only happens when I am near or around you." she said, raising an eyebrow. Frankenstrike gulped nervously and scratched his head. "Um, that sure is strange." he said uneasily. Skelita cocked an eyebrow. "Are you hiding something?" she asked. Frankenstrike shook his head, but Skelita continued on. "I also get the same feeling in my bones when I've been around Clockwork, Swampfire, Ripjaws, and that time when Bullfrag broke into our classroom to rescue some frogs. Do you have an explanation?" she asked kindly.

"Is it just me or is it getting hot in here?" Frankenstrike asked nervously, fanning himself furiously.

Skelita was about to press further, when she got that sensation in her bones; the tingling feeling that warned her when something was going to happen. She suddenly felt hot, the air feeling suddenly humid and hot. Then she heard it; a low growling sound that filled the air. "Now that you mention it, it does feel a lot warmer." she noted. The growling sound grew into a roar, and the sound of claws scrabbling against the stone floor filled the air. Skelita stood up, Frankenstrike following him as the sound got closer and closer. "What is that-" Frankenstrike began before he decided to stay quiet as a large beast entered the room through a large tunnel in front of him. The animal was covered in scales and walked on four, muscled legs tipped razor sharp claws. It had a lizard-like head with two large horns curving back and glowing, red eyes. The creature roared and pulled its full body into the chamber, a pair of giant wings opening up as it stood on its hind legs. A long, triangular tipped tail curled around on the floor as the monster bellowed and a wave of fire erupted from its teeth lined jaws. "Is that what I think it is?" Frankenstrike gulped as the beast glowered at them, licking its jaws.

"Dragon!" Skelita cried as the monster roared and lunged forward towards them. Frankenstrike quickly grabbed hold of Skelita's arm and pulled her out of the way just as the dragon crashed into the fire pit and roared in anger. It snapped its jaws and gave chase after them as they ran down another tunnel, Frankenstrike practically dragging Skelita as they ran for their lives. They ran through more tunnels and passageways, running across bridges in giant caverns seemingly miles deep, but the savage dragon was always just behind them, snapping its jaws as it reached for Skelita's dangling feet. They eventually ran into a dead end, Frankenstrike cursing as they stopped. "Darn it!" he yelled in frustration, stomping a foot down and cracking the stone beneath his foot. The dragon roared from down the tunnel, and it would soon would be upon them. "Ya know, Skelita?"

"Yes?"

"I guess I might as well come clean. Ya know, before get eaten and all." Frankenstrike said as the ever familiar beeping sound filled the air. "Just, don't freak out, okay?" he asked as the green light engulfed him, filling the tunnel with light and blinding Skelita. The green light faded, and Skelita rubbed her eyes, not quite believing what she was seeing. The towering monster that had just been standing next to her had been replaced by a somewhat scrawny teenage boy in the blink of an eye. "What are you?" Skelita asked, slightly frightened (more so than usual).

"The name's Tennyson; Ben Tennyson." Ben said, smirking as he activated the Omnitrix and slapped down on the watch face. The familiar green flashed lit up the tunnel once more, Skelita gasping as the transformation began. His skinny figure suddenly swelled as hundreds of muscles piled on top of each other, sending his growing form upwards until he was more than twice as tall as his previous self. His fingers pulsed as thick veins appeared on his arms, sending alien blood through them. A second pair of eyes appeared above his own and every hair on his head disappeared. A short beard appeared on his chin that ran up to his disappearing earlobes as his jaw jutted out. Suddenly, a second pair of smaller arms burst out from under his own, still just fresh muscle and bone. Skelita felt like she was going to be sick until rough, red, skin covered them. Ben's toes melded into two large claws as a row of small spikes appeared on his head and shoulders. A black undershirt with a green stripe down the middle as a pair of black pants appeared as two pairs of black fingerless gloves came out of nowhere on his large hands, finishing the transformation.

"What are you?" Seklita asked.

"Say hello to Four Arms, baby!" the Tetramand said, flexing both pairs of arms.

A low roar came down from the tunnel, Four Arms turning to face the large dragon with all four hands balled into fists. The dragon, smoke drifting from its nostrils, surged forward, jaws wide open and fully prepared to devour the large creature in front of him. With a yell, Four Arms rushed forward and drove his top pair of fists downward, shoving the dragon's jaws shut. Before the dragon could react, Four Arms attacked with lower set of arms, boxing what seemed to be the dragon's ears and then jabbing it in the eyes. The dragon roared in agony and annoyance as Four Arms reached down and ripped away a large stone from the floor and raising it above his head before throwing at the dragon's head. The dragon fell to the ground and shook the boulder off its head, roaring. Four Arms backed up. "Any ideas, Skelita?" he asked nervously. Skelita mean while, had been watching the whole fight scene when her hand had pushed on a small rock in the wall, sending it through the other side. She rapped a bony knuckle on the wall and heard a deep, hollow sound. "Ben, er, Four Arms! Whichever! There's another tunnel behind here!" she yelled over the roar of the beast.

"And that means?" Four Arms asked, appearing next to her.

"If you can lure the dragon over and then destroy the wall, the collapse should daze it long enough for us to get away." Skelita said calmly.

Four Arms grinned. "I like you. You're smart." he said before turning to face the dragon, cracking his knuckles for dramatic effect. "Hey! Over here you big, dumb lizard!" he yelled, cupping his hands over his mouth. The dragon's gaze deepened as it opened its mouth and unleashed a jet of flame. Four Arms blanked; he hadn't been expecting that to happen, despite the fact it _was_ a fire-breathing dragon. Without thinking, he dove in front of Skelita as she flinched, shielding herself with her arms. Four Arms cried out in pain as he turned his back to the dragon; it didn't hurt exactly. His Tetramand skin happened to be somewhat fire-proof. However, it wouldn't last long. "Can you do something please? This kind of hurts!" he grunted. Skelita panicked and did the first thing that came to mind; she reached down and picked up a small stone from the wall about as big as her palm and chucked it at the dragon, hitting it square between the eyes.

The fire stopped, and the dragon's closed as it tried to understand that it had been struck by an object that was much too small to do any damage by its prey. Four Arms was breathing heavily as smoke curled off his singed back. He look over his shoulder to see the entire back part of his shirt burned off. She shrugged and tore the rest off, discarding it to the floor, revealing his well defined abs and chest muscles. Despite having no skin or blood vessels to begin with, Sekltia felt herself blushing. A low growling sound filled the chamber once more, and they both turned to face the dragon, its lips curled back to show its teeth; it had had enough play for one day, and was more than ready to kill them. Four Arms glanced up and behind them, noticing that a large crack ran from the wall and up to the ceiling. A trickle of dirt would fall through the crack every time there a large tremor, and this gave the Tetramand an idea. "Quick, get down!" he yelled to Skelita. The young skeleton did not to crouch to the floor and cover her head as Four Arms both pairs of muscled arms and slammed his fists downward to the floor. The tunnel shook, and dirt fell from the ceiling as the crack began to widen.

**BOOM!** Another hit.

**BOOM! **Another hit.

The dragon was edging closer, its jaws wide open and a harsh glowing light coming from the back of its throat, preparing another blast to hopefully incinerate its prey. Four Arms grimaced and raised his arms one more time. _Oh, please let this work,_ he thought to himself as he slammed his fists into the ground one last time. By now, the crack had widened enough that a truckload of rubble came tumbling down, smashing onto the dragon's head as it lunged forward. Four Arms shielded his face until the dust cleared and cracked open his eyes to see a wall of dirt and rock in front of them, two stone walls to his left and right, and another stone wall behind him, with about a dozen feet between the rubble and back wall. He sighed with relief as Skelita cracked open an eye. "Is it dead?" she asked, standing back up and pointing at the dragon. Four Arms dusted off his hands as he answered. "Nah, I doubt that; probably just knocked him out for a round." he said with a large grin. "We should probably get out of here before he-"

He never got to finish as a loud rumbling filled the tunnel and trails of dirt poured from the ceiling. Both of them looked up to see the crack widening even more, spreading the whole width of the tunnel as a wall of dirt and rock pressed down on. "Get down! Again!" Four Arms cried as Skelita fell to the floor again, Four Arms landing on top of her to act as a shield for her fragile bones. The world shook and fell around them as Skelita squeezed her eyes shut, covering her head and trying to block the sound out of her ears, despite not having any. After what seemed like hours, the roar of the collapsing tunnel stopped. She waited a few more minutes before she cracked an eye open to see nothing but brown and gray all around her. She began to panic until she felt a heavy breathing on the back of her vertebrae. She craned her neck to see Four Arms over her, protecting her from the falling rubble with his own back. She oddly felt touched by the gesture, despite having just met the strange boy moments ago. He had sacrificed him to protect her, and that was really counted for the young skeleton. And she would gladly thank him, if he could just get off of her.

"Um, Four Arms? Ben? You can let go know?" she said gently. Four Arms opened a pair of eyes and laughed nervously he realized she was right. With a heavy grunt, he rose up to his full height, rocks and dirt falling off of him as he stood up. Several small cuts from the stones marked his arms, but he barely felt them. What really hurt was his back. With an arching twist and he cracked it, wincing as he heard the loud pops and cracks of his own spine. "Ahhhh, yeah. That'll do it." he sighed with relief once his back was straightened out. He looked around to them standing up to their hips in debris, Skelita up to her shoulders. He quickly dug her out and helped her up before doing the same to himself, ducking his head against the low ceiling. "So, uh, what now?" he asked. Skelita shrugged and pointed upwards, a small shaft of moonlight shining down on them.

"Four Arms's is not gonna be able to climb that," the Tetramand said. "However, I think I know a guy who can fly us out." he chuckled, slapping the Omnitrix symbol on his green belt. Skelita shielded her eyes as Ben briefly changed back into his human self and let the next sequence of the transformation begin. First was the light covering of light and dark blue fur. It covered his whole body as he shrunk down to the size of a large bulldog. He was forced to hunch forward as his spine arched that way, a long tail sprouting from the base of his spine. His arms became thin, yet strong, designed to pull himself up and down, left and right, and whichever direction he pleased. He lost two fingers on each hand, but gained a second pair of similar arms that split out from his sides, thankfully already covered in skin and fur. Three pairs of green eyes appeared on his face as the fur on his head was flipped up and back. His jaw jutted out in an ape-like fashion as two, sharp canine teeth poked from his bottom lip at the corners of his mouth. Two green sashes appeared across his chest like an X with the Omnitrix symbol in the center, finishing the transformation.

"Jetray! Ook! Ook!" the alien cried out, posing with arms stretched out like wings. He then quickly looked himself over and noticeably drooped, his face falling. "Correction; Spidermonkey." he sighed. "Oh, well. I can work with this too." he chuckled. He aimed his tail upward and shot a jet of web fluid out of it, drawing a small squeak of surprise from Skelita as it rocketed upwards and stuck fast to a firm rock. Spidermonkey gave a few tugs before confirming it was safe. He then reached out with a hand and looped it around Skelita's thin waist. "Hang on tight! Ooh! Ooh! It's goin' ta be a bumpy ride!" he screeched before swinging up the tight rod of silk, Skelita screaming all the way. They rocketed up the thin rope of webbing and before they reached the top, Spidermonkey shot out another jet of web fluid, swinging on it like a vine and pulling him self to the other side of the hole before spinning around in a ball and shooting another shot of web fluid upwards, yanking himself up as the webbing was sucked back into his tail. Skelita continued to scream as they went through another series of mind boggling acrobatics before they finally slingshot out of the hole and into the night air, tumbling onto a soft bed of grass. "And the Amazing Spidermonkey does it again! Ooh! Ooh! Ah! Ah!" he cheered, pounding his chest like a gorilla as he jumped up and down excitedly. Skelita, meanwhile, was shaking on the ground.

She was completely terrified. She couldn't believe moments ago they had been a mile underground and had covered that much distance in such a short amount of time. And the way they did it! She had always marveled at acrobats, stunned at how they made twirling and flipping through the air look so easy. She couldn't believe she had ever wanted to give it a try at some point! If she had a stomach, she would have emptied long ago, she felt so sick. She stood up on shaky legs, leaning against a nearby tree for support as she gasped for breath. Spidermonkey turned around and knuckle walked over to her, a look of concern on his face. "Are you okay?" he asked. She slowly shook her head. No, she was not okay. Why would he think she was? What they had done was just insane. "Promise me one thing." she said with a shaky voice, falling to her knees on the ground. "Don't ever do that with me again." she pleaded. Spidermonkey sighed and sat next to her, putting a comforting paw on her back and gently rubbing it up and down her vertebrae. For some reason, this seemed to sooth Skelita, calm down her jittery nerves a little. She moaned sleepily and sat cross legged as Spider monkey continued to rub her back gently, playing her soft hair a little as he did so. After a few moments, Skelita could feel herself becoming calmer; her heart had stopped pounding, and she no longer felt like she was on a sugar rush.

"Better?" Spidermonkey asked cheekily.

Skelita nodded her head. She did feel better than before. She took a breath and stood up, thankful that she wasn't in danger of falling over.

"That's good. Unfortunately, that means I also have to break that promise of yours." Spidermonkey said sheepishly. Skelita looked frightened and confused at the same time before she realized that he was somewhat right; they were in the middle of the woods. She could see the soft lights of the town a couple miles away, but there was no way they would get there before dawn. She sighed as Spidermonkey put a reassuring hand on her femur bone. "Don't worry! Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! I promise to take it easy!" he said.

* * *

"You call this easy!?" Skelita cried.

"Trust me; this is the least showy thing that I could possibly do." Spidermonkey said with slight resentment in his voice. He _had _promised her to take it easy. Unfortunately a small part of him wanted to do a repeat of the flips and twirls he had done back in the hole, and this was what he could come up with; a steady rhythm of shooting a strand of webbing out at a far away tree and swinging to it, twirling in the air for a few seconds before firing another jet of webbing and repeating the process. It was seriously the least nauseous thing he could think of at the moment. After about a quarter of an hour, they reached the outskirts of the quiet town. Skelita took a break from hyperventilating and gave him quick instructions to her house as Spidermonkey swung from lamppost to lamppost. They eventually arrived at a semi normal household done up in a Mexican style lay out. Large, clay pots sat on either side of the walk up to the front door, cacti sitting in each pot. Most of the lights in the windows were off, but a soft glow could be seen in the bottom floor of the house, in what Skelita said was the living room. With a flick of his tail, Spidermonkey snapped the strand of web and landed with a low thump at Skelita's doorstep. The skeleton was breathless for a moment but quickly recovered, smiling from cheekbone to cheekbone. A familiar beeping sound filled the air, and Spidermonkey disappeared, reversing Ben to his normal form. He then realized his hand was still around Skelita's waist and jerked it away nervously, smiling sheepishly as he did.

"So, um, good night, I guess." he said before turning around to walk back to the road. Skelita smiled and grabbed hold of his arm, yanking him backwards and towards him. Before he could protest, Skelita pulled him in and pressed her lips against his. Ben stood stalk still for a moment before deciding to go along with it and pulling Skelita deeper into the kiss. The two teens just stood there for a few moments, oblivious to the world around them, until they broke to take a breath.

"Wow." was all Ben could say with his signature goofy grin.

"_Si_." Skelita giggled as she put a hand on the doorknob to her house. "_Buenas noches._" she said sweetly. Ben waved good bye before turning around and walking down the walk. "See you at school tomorrow, Skelita."

The young skeleton smiled and entered the house, the door clicking softly behind her.

"_Hija? _Is that you?" a voice called from the living room.

"_Si, mamá!_"

"Where were you?"

"Having the night of my undead life." Skelita said with a sweet smile as she headed upstairs to bed.

**And there's the first filler chapter! A lot of you were requesting Skelita make an appearance before Ben's secret be revealed, so here you go! And yes, I have decided to make this a harem story, based on a review I received from a loyal reader. I will not however, be featuring any lemons in this story. If you are that kind of person, feel free to write a story like it. This website needs more Ben 10/Monster High crossovers anyway.**

**As always, please comment and review below! I will be posting the big Halloween Dance Fiasco on Halloween. So, be patient until then!**


	8. Now you See Him, Now you Don't

**The requested filler chapter until Halloween is here! Now, this is going to be the last filler chapter until the big Halloween update, so keep hanging in there! As usual, post your reviews and comments below, and feel free to PM me your ideas and suggestions.**

**Enjoy!**

The bell rang brightly as the door swung open to the Pizzeria. Swampfire held the door open for Hoodude to walk through, Robecca Steam, Draculaura, Clawdeen Wolf, and Clawd Wolf right behind them. It was just after school, and the small gang had decided to head out for a snack, Swampfire's treat as he had promised Hoodude. Of course, Hoodude had felt a little uncomfortable going alone and had asked Robecca to come with him, along with Clawd. Draculaura and Clawdeen weren't to far behind as they almost always went where the other went. The large group then sat down at a large booth in the corner, Swampfire and Clawd taking the outside seats as they were the tallest of the group.

"Everybody know what they want?" Swampfire asked after a few minutes of browsing through the menu.

"Meat lovers." Clawd and Clawdeen said in unison.

"Veggie." Draculaura said, looking a little green after hearing the werewolve's choice of menu.

"Cheese, please!" Hoodude cried happily.

"I'll just have some ginger tea and pasta," said Robecca.

"And I'll have a veggie pizza, too." Swampfire finished after getting a look of Draculaura's worried face. "I've been meaning to try one of those bad boys out. Heard they're actually pretty tasty." he said as Draculaura beamed. A small gargoyle waiter with a scrunched face lumbered over, looking as if he hated his job. A lot. "What'll it be?" he growled. The teens recited their orders, and the gargoyle lumbered off, grumbling under his breath about how he should have stayed in college. "I assume you and Clawd are going to the dance together?" Robecca asked Draculaura, trying to start off a conversation. The little vampire, shorter than anyone else at the table, nodded vigorously. "Of course, it's going to take me the entire week just to pick out an outfit that matches Clawd's! Then I'll have to change my outfit again, and of course change Clawd's outfit to compliment mine, and then go back to what I originally had then change Clawd's outfit one more time! Whew!" Draculaura said, breathing heavily after her short outburst.

"Is she always like this?" Swampfire whispered to Clawd.

"You should see her at the Maul sometime. Takes her an hour just to pick something within her budget." Clawd said with a laugh. "And don't even get me started on her closet."

"Wait, how do you know about her closet?" Clawdeen asked, raising an eyebrow.

"She showed me one time during a study session together. I swear, I got lost in there for an hour." he added, muttering under his breath. "How do you find your way around in there?" he asked his girlfriend.

"Decades of practice." she replied simply as the gargoyle waiter came over with a tray of drinks. Robecca gladly took her ginger tea as the boys each took their drinks, Clawd and Hoodue's a soda, Swampfire a sweet, delicious smoothie. Draculaura and Clawdeen sipped their glasses of water happily as the conversation continued and the smell of pizza wafted through the air.

"Centuries? How are you that old?" Swampfire asked with surprise.

"She's a vampire, dude." Hoodude whispered to him. "They practically live forever."

Swampfire nodded, excepting the fact that the sweet, young girl sitting across from him was practically older than human history. "Anyone else know who they're going to the dance with?" he asked, slurping his smoothie happily. Clawdeen shrugged her shoulders, filing her claws. "Meh. I think I'll just go by myself again. Not really into the whole date thing." she replied. Robecca sighed longingly, staring off into space as she stirred her tea with a spoon. She _did _have an idea of who wanted to go to the dance with. Of course, in order for that to happen, they had to actually show up. Clockwork, after rescuing her, repairing a chard building, and the demolished school, had simply disappeared. Robecca had never gotten a chance to ask him to the dance. She was slightly jealous that her ghoulfriend, Venus, had asked her dream date out. At the same time, she was still happy for her.

"Robecca? Robecca? Earth to Robecca!" Clawdeen practically yelled, waving a hand over the automaton's face. Robecca jolted, having come back to the real world. "So, were you just off in La La Land or something?" Clawdeen asked. Robecca's face turned red. "No, no. Just deep in thought, that's all." she told them, though she swore she saw mischievous grins between Draculaura and Clawdeen, and sly eyebrow raises among Clawd and Swampfire. Hoodude remained blissfully unaware, watching a commercial for a new video game on the flat screen TV that hung over their booth. Suddenly, the screen changed to a news alert, a distressed looking Cyclops yelling frantically into the microphone. "This just in! The Werecat Gang as struck again!" she announced, gesturing to a large hole in the side of a building. "Authorities claim that the thieves blasted their way into the First Salem Bank just moments ago, stealing millions of dollars before making their escape." Swampfire choked on his smoothie as a sudden ringing sound filed the air.

Everyone glanced around before noticing it was Draculaura's phone. The vampire quickly picked it up and put to her ear, listening on the other end. "Hmm? Uh, huh? Uh, huh? Really!?" she exclaimed. "It's for you Swampfire." she said, turning her phone over to the Methanosian. Picking it up between his fingers, the iCoffin looked somewhat small compared to him as he answered it. "Hello?" he asked.

"Ben!" Spectra's voice cried out from the other end. "Get over here! I've managed to track the Werecat Gang! They're just approaching the intersection of Tooth and Claw Blvd!" Spectra yelled frantically. "I'll be right over." Swampfire sighed before ending the call and handing the iCoffin back to Draculaura. "I'll be back in a couple minutes. Spectra needs some help with something." he said, getting up from the booth and moving towards the exit. "Don't let Draculaura eat my pizza!" he said before he left, the bell ringing as he opened the door and ran out.

"Hey!" Draculaura cried in protest.

* * *

Spectra flew through the air, moving as fast as she could to follow the getaway van the thieving werecats had taken. A squadron of police cars were closely behind them, but Spectra didn't know how long it would be before they lost them; two of the four werecats were poking out of the windows facing the police cars, shooting at them with pistols. They managed to pop one of the car's tires, causing it to collide with another car and come to a screech halt. The other cars suffered holes and dent in the paint jobs and windshields, but managed to not blow anymore tires while doing so. Spectra bit her lip and pulled out her iCoffin to film the whole scene for her blog. While she knew the student body of Monster High would surely watch it, she needed something to make sure they kept on coming back for more. And Ben was that thing she needed desperately. "Come on, Ben. Where are you?" she whispered to herself, not wanting her voice to be caught on the recording.

_**SHOOM!**_

Spectra blinked in surprise, unable to comprehend what had just happened. She looked down to see a blue, black, and green streak alongside the werecat's van, keeping a steady pace with it as it ran along. The shape then suddenly accelerated forward in front of the car and jumped on the windshield, shattering the glass with two quick jabs of its hands. The sounds of angry cats fighting soon filled the air as the car began to swerve from side to side, clipping a lamp post as it hung a hard left. The lamp post came crashing down, and the light exploded on contact with the street. The police came to a screeching stop, unable to proceed any further with the obstruction in the way. Spectra swooped low, only a couple feet off the ground and behind the van. The back doors swung open and a dozen gold bars suddenly came flying out, clattering to the street with a heavy noise. Spectra easily avoided them, as they went right through her.

She moved in closer to see three of the four criminals tussling with a black and blue figure who was moving so fast, Spectra couldn't get a clear look at him. One of the werecats, covered in brown, striped fur and wearing an eye patch, grabbed a crowbar and swung over her head, but ended up hitting one of her accomplice's in the face instead when the figure jerked out of the way and was suddenly on the other side of her. The figure kicked her in the chest and quickly turned around, smacking her upside the head with what Spectra assumed to be a tail. With two of the four thieves down, the figure easily disarmed the last one of his gun before whacking him over the head with it. With a quick movement, the figure was suddenly in the front seat and attacking the driver, who soon joined his comrades in the back, unconscious. The blue and black figure then grabbed hold of the steering wheel and jerked to the right, smashing the car into another lamp post. With a quick movement, the figure jumped over the back seat, grabbed all four robbers and deposited them on the street, tied up and waiting for pick up. Spectra could finally get a good look at the figure, now that he was guarding the unconscious thieves until the police showed up.

He was about Spectra's height, and resembled something of a _Velociraptor _with a pointed black head that curved backwards. He had a pointed chin, and soon showed he was wearing a sort of body suit armor when a visor slid up over his face and disappeared into his pointed cap. He had a cocky, toothy grin as his pointed hands clicked in anticipation. The being had only three, sharp blades for hands, forming a pointy cone when put together. The strangest feature of the creature however, was it feet. Four claws, two in front, two in back, curved over a smooth, black ball, so that the creature moved about in a rollerblading fashion as the balls on his feet rolled. His long, striped tail dragged on the ground now that he was resting, but he could be lifted up and used as a weapon in the blink of an eye as he had proven.

"Hey, Spectra! I'd like you to meet XLR8!" the creature said in a high voice of Ben's that clicked whenever he talked. He zoomed over to her faster than she could blink and looked down at her iCoffin. "You get the footage?" he asked her. Spectra nodded. "I can't wait to post it!" she said. "You can go back to whatever you were doing now, if you want." she added.

"I'll wait for the cops first." the Kinceleran said, folding his thin arms over his chest. The wailing sound of a siren soon filled the air as a dozen police cars raced down the street towards, screeching to a halt when they saw the decapitated villains. Without another word, the officers arrested them as XLR8 and Spectra disappeared into a blur.

* * *

"Did you guys see that!?" Hoodude exclaimed, pointing up to the TV screen.

"Hard to actually see anything. That guy moved so fast!" Clawdeen said, marveled at how fast the hero on TV had defeated the Werecat Gang that had eluded the police force for almost half a year. A bell sounded off, and Swampfire soon entered the restaurant, holding the door open for an excited Spectra, even if it was unnecessary (she was a ghost after all). The Methanosian returned to his seat, Spectra hovering near his head as he dug hungrily into his pizza without a word. "You guys see the big chase?" he asked between mouthfuls.

"Yeah. It was awesome! I can't believe that moved so fast!" Clawd exclaimed.

"I think he calls himself XLR8." Swampfire said, sucking on his smoothie straw.

"How do you even pronounce that?" Draculuara asked. "Zee-ler-eighty?" she tried but horribly failing.

"I think you just it like 'accelerate', luv." Robecca corrected her. "And why do think he calls himself that?" she asked, turning to Swampfire.

"Just a lucky guess." he replied, winking at Spectra, who smiled.

**And there's the filler chapter. I'm sorry, but I just wasn't in the mood today. I started typing, and then it kind of just went down hill. I am not proud of this chapter, but it's what I could think of on such short notice. As always, leave your comments and reviews below. You know the drill.**

**Hasta Luego!**


	9. Secrets

**This is Halloween! This is Halloween! That's right! It's Halloween Night, and as I promised last chapter, here is the biggest update yet! Ben has just said yes to two, count 'em, TWO ghouls to take to the Halloween Dance. But with dark secrets in the school and surrounding town conspiring against him, how long will it be before Ben's secret unravels faster than a mummy's bandages (I'm good, aren't I?)**

**And, as a side note, I no longer feel lonely! Another story called _A New Monster in Monster High _has been posted by a loyal guest reader who has finally gone and got themselves an account. Go on and read _Whampire's _(yes, _the Whampire_) story! I can wait.**

**You back? Good.**

**As always, do not hesitate to review in the comments below or to PM me your ideas and suggestions. And trust me, at the end of this chapter, things are going to get crazy. Enjoy!**

The day before the big Halloween Dance.

The school was in a complete uproar. Boodes asked their ghouls to the dance, ghouls asking the guys if they wanted to go too, and the sadly outclassed monsters trying to contend themselves with being left out. They would still attend the dance in the hopes of scoring a slow dance with someone, anyone, but would mostly sit on the bleachers as the turn tables spun their records and the couples took over the dance floors. And when they weren't nervously trying to go unnoticed or avoid getting shoved into a locker, they were staring and gawking at the sizable bulk of Frankenstrike, despite the fact he had been among them for the past month or so.

No matter how many times you saw him, you never got over how big Frankenstrike was. He towered over everyone in the school, even standing a good foot taller than Manny Taur, the previous record holder. The minotaur tried to look okay with it, but it was clear he was not used to be outsized by such a massive wall of sheer muscle and strength. No one could move the large monster without getting a running start and some serious help. Even when the entire gym class played tug o'war against him, it ended in a draw. Regardless of that, Frankie found him oddly endearing to her. She sighed sweetly as she watched him lumber down the hall, already dreaming of tomorrow night's dance.

Wait a moment. He was walking up to Skelita. And he was talking to her about something, leaning against her locker as she put her books away. Skelita giggled and Frankenstrike chuckled before he gave a thumbs up and walked back down the hallway towards Frankie. _Why was he talking to Skelita?_ Frankie wondered. She hoped to Ra that they were just friends.

"Feelin' nervous, lassy?"

Frankie yelped and dropped her books, turning around to see Scarah Screams standing behind her locker, smiling cheekily. "Hey, Scarah! Wait, have you been reading my mind?" Frankie asked. Scarah laughed. "Of course I have, luv. Don't worry, you aren't the only one feeling nervous about tomorrow night." Scarah told her. "It's my first dance with Invisibilly, and I'm more nervous than Ghoulia without her laptop." she told the young cadaver. Unbeknownst to them, a pair of light blue eyes was watching them from the safety of a vent. The eyes glanced down at their conversation, but was more focused on the hulking mass of Frankenstrike as he walked past, out of sight.

With a quick scrambling sound, the eyes moved away from the vent and appeared at another on a different hallway, exactly where Frankenstrike was giving Hoodude a friendly noogie. To anyone who had noticed the pair of eyes would have just shrugged and looked away. They were used to seeing them by now, as they belonged to the shyest student Monster High had ever seen: Jane Boolittle.

The young girl was notorious for suddenly appearing and then vanishing without a trace. One moment there and the next she was gone. And despite the help of her creature friends (who nobody knew about), her self confidence wasn't exactly perfect. She had manged to come to last year's dance, and had been crowned Jungle Queen, but quickly hid in the duct work of the school after the dance was over, too nervous and jittery to stick around and talk with her friends. And for all anyone ever knew, she practically _lived _at Monster High, making her quarters somewhere deep in the catacombs where even Operetta couldn't find it.

At the moment however, the young monster was busy studying Frankenstrike. For some odd reason, he intrigued her. He would appear for a couple of days, and then vanish for almost a week before reappearing as if nothing had ever happened. Whats more, Spectra Vondergeist was always close by at one point or another. Then again, the two were roommates so to speak. She had quickly dismissed the idea that the two were dating and focused more on the subject to Frankenstrike's whereabouts. All she knew was that they were somehow connected to the constant appearances of other students and monsters, namely Clockwork, Ripjaws, Swampfire, and the occasional appearances of Heatblast and Bullfrag.

Also to add to the list were the five creatures Spectra had claimed to see in the catacombs that she posted on her blog; a large, red, four armed creature; an even bigger dinosaur; a faceless, mutant dog of some kind; a goo monster that could move on its own accord; and some kind of plant monster that for once wasn't linked to Venus. Another case to check out were the claims that Skelita Calaveras had actually met the four armed monster, along with some sort of mutant monkey. She had overheard that conversation only a week ago during lunch with Skelita and Jinafire. And then there was the mysterious blue blur that had tore through the Creepateria only minutes after Robecca's jump.

Screams of fright and yells of horror suddenly met her ears and she turned to look out of the vent to see monsters running in all directions, mostly away from a large, four legged beast that was chasing them. It had thick, orange fur with a patch of sharp quills on it's back between its massive shoulder blades. It had large front legs, and Jane quickly deduced that could also be used as makeshift hands at some point. The back legs were shorter than the front ones, giving the animal a stature similar to a hyena or giraffe. It had no tail, but the other end of the animal was what caught her attention. It's lower jaw jutted out, large canines sticking up over the lip. The creature had no visible eyes and had a row of gill-like slits on either side of its head. A thick, green color was around its neck. Jane quickly recognized the beast as one of the creature's from the catacombs. And it had a collar too!

Ben had no idea what had happened. One moment, he had been walking down an empty hallway, heading towards Dead Languages, when there was a sudden flash of green light. And then he saw the world in a whole new way; no longer did he see the world in great detail and color. All he could see were black shapes that surrounded hues of red, orange, green, yellow, and blue. For a moment, he was confused before he realized that the Omnitrix had transformed him into Wildmutt.

And then came the screams.

He had no idea who had found him, but their screams had quickly caught the attention of others, and soon the entire hallway was in chaos. Students were running like mad as teachers were trying calm them down, but failing miserably. Some of them yelled for Creature Control. Others merely yelled in fright as they dropped their books and papers. And then there were a few cries for some monster to find someone named Jane Boolittle. The name didn't exactly sound frightening to Ben, but with the way the student body was yelling, she must have been good at what she did. And whatever she did, Ben did not want to find out, which was why he was currently running down the hall, chasing students on his way to the safety of the catacombs. He suddenly felt a silky touch and whisper and turned to see a black outline with an incredibly light blue center. That could have only been Spectra. She didn't say anything, but merely pointed with a finger towards the left, away from the catacombs for some odd reason. Ben didn't argue and barreled down said hallway, following Spectra. He hung a sharp right, running up the wall a little before gravity took affect and brought him back down.

A gaggle of frightened students suddenly appeared in front of them. Wildmutt let out a hoarse roar and the mob of students quickly cleared, running the opposite direction. He heard a sudden snorting sound and turned to see a large, red and orange shape racing towards him. From the angered snorting and heavy thudding sound, Wildmutt quickly concluded that it was Manny Taur, coming to the rescue. A loud roar, and a quick swipe of his claws, and Manny was racing in the opposite direction, scared out of his pants (not literally) and without a shirt. Wildmutt discarded the rags that were stuck to his claws and resumed his mad chase after Spectra. After a few more minutes of running and terrorizing the school, the young spirit came to a stop at a large air vent, just big enough for a Vulpimancer to squeeze through. Wildmutt quickly tore the covering of the vent off and ducked inside, Spectra following him and pulling the vent back in place as a group of Creature Control officers came running by, carrying nets and tranquilizer guns. The pair sighed with relief, Spectra pointing behind them. Wildmutt nodded and followed the ghost through the network of large ducts, taking lefts and turns, all of which were slanted downwards, towards the safety of the catacombs.

Eventually they came to another vent opening. Spectra moved aside, part of her going through the duct as Wildmutt punched the vent covering off with a half made fist. The pair tumbled out of the vent and onto the cold, stone floor in a sort of chamber, much smaller than the one Skelita had been in. It was easily the size of a classroom, with a large dog house that resembled a large, haunted mansion. Several mazes of ramps, walkways, and stairs just the right size for small animals snaked their way around the room, with several bird perches hanging from the ceilings. A large section of the wall had been replaced with glass to make an aquarium. Wildmutt instantly recognized Whatzit and Neptuna among the small group of creatures that had gathered at their feet (those that could anyway). Aside from them was a cat, dust bunny, horned owl, two tailed rat, jewel covered snake, bow wearing bat, and small woolly mammoth. The creatures started barking, meowing, and hissing amongst themselves as Spectra and Wildmutt shared a look until a shrill whistle broke the chattering. Everyone turned to see a girl about as tall as Spectra with violet colored skin and wave of indigo and pink hair tied back into a ponytail. She wore faux feathers on her shoulders and a dark, pink shirt over a purple tank top. She wore a short, black skirt and two ankle bracelets that ran the length of her legs, one resembling a snake and other simply just a band with feathers. She smiled warmly and waved the two over as the other creatures gathered around her.

Wildmutt padded up to her, his lips curled back to show his teeth. The girl simply smiled and closed her eyes for a moment before speaking. "Hello. My name is Jane Boolittle. Yours?" she asked. Wildmutt snarled. What did she take him for, a fool? Everyone knew that animals couldn't speak, which included Vulpimancer's for the most part.

"_Wildmutt. As if you understand anything I'm saying."_

"Well, you don't have to be so rude about it." the girl was said.

The Vulpimancer did a double take as Spectra laughed and fell to the floor, laughing hysterically. They ignored her. _"You can understand me?" _Wildmutt growled. To anyone who was watching would have just heard a series of snarls and bellows. Jane nodded her head just before Wildmutt gave her a happy lick upside her head, Jane laughing as she wiped the slobber off her face enough. "Alright, alright, enough. I'm sure you are quite confused. And as no one but us knows about this little place, we might as well get to know each other." Jane said. "I would like to ask some questions, if you don't mind."

"_Sure. Go ahead." _said Wildmutt.

"Have you ever met someone named Frankenstrike?"

Wildmutt stopped cold. As soon as anyone asked that question, it usually meant that they were onto him. Was he really becoming that careless in hiding his identity? _Guess being world famous has made me lazy,_ he thought. With a heavy sigh, he slapped the Omnitrix face on his collar and watched as Jane's friendly face turned from one of kindness to one of complete shock and almost horror as the transformation was reversed to return Wildmutt back into Ben Tennyson. After a few seconds, the green light died down, and Ben stood out there in the open. "There. All questions answered?" he asked.

Jane didn't respond. Her eyes were wide open as she stared at him, a look of shock and fear on her face as she reached with a shaky hand for her journal. Ben saw what she was doing and grabbed the leather book and pen, handing it to her without breaking eye contact. All the creatures were hiding behind Jane in a fearful manner. It was almost fifteen minutes before Jane said anything close to words.

"What are you?" she asked with a shaky voice.

"I'm just a Normie kid with a fancy watch," Ben said, holding up his wrist to show Jane the Omnitrix. "My name's Ben by the way." he added, taking her jittery hand and shaking it. Jane inhaled a deep breath before becoming calm once more. "Sorry," she apologized with a nervous smile. "I'm not too good around other people." she admitted. Ben grinned and sat down in front of her. "So, how much do you know?" he asked as Whatzit cautiously crawled out from behind Jane and sniffed him curiously. The animal then began happily licking his hand before Ben scratched him behind the ears.

"Well, based on what I just say, I'd say I know a lot. You have been posing as new students at Monster High to hide your identity from the student body. And since Spectra here is not freaking out like I did earlier," said Jane, nodding to the ghost that was floating next to her. "I'd say you have revealed your secret to her, as well as several other students in the school." she said, writing it all down in her journal next to an incredibly life-like sketch of Frankenstrike. Ben nodded. "Yep. You're good." he said. "Are you a detective?" he asked. Jane shook her head. "No, I just like observing creatures in their natural habitats, as well as it may seem, young teenagers with 'fancy watches'" she explained. "May I see another demonstration, if you please?" she asked kindly.

Ben grinned and stood up. He then turned on the Omnitrix and held out his wrist to Jane, who looked at him with confusion. "Um, aren't you going to do it?" she asked timidly. Ben shook his head. "I figured you might want to try." he said, inching his wrist closer. "Just hold down on the watch face until you get the alien you want. Then tap it and slap the activation button." he instructed. Jane nodded and timidly put a finger on the watch face, watching as the bright green hologram scrolled past images of different aliens of all shapes and sizes. Her eyes lit up when she scrolled past one whose face resembled a cat. "How about this one then? She asked, tapping the image. Ben had gotten a brief look at what she selected. "No! Not that one!" he yelled too late; Jane had already tentatively pressed the activation button, guaranteeing a correct transformation.

"Oh, no." Ben squeaked as the green light encased him and the Omnitrix worked its magic.

Ben's arms swelled as his veins popped out, alien blood coursing through them as muscles piled themselves on top of each other. His legs became muscled as he stretched upward, growing taller and taller until he was a good four feet taller than Jane or Spectra. Fur began to sprout all over his body, turning white on his chest, gut, hands, and feet, turning orange everywhere else. A few black stripes stretched across his broad back and shoulder, a handful of whiskers sprouting on his face. His eyebrows turned black and became longer as they grew up and off his head. His jaw jutted out as his teeth became sharper. His hands became larger and muscled as a single, black claw grew out of his wrist, completing the transformation as Rath roared, the sound echoing through the chamber and sending the creatures scattering.

"Lemme tell ya somethin' Jane Boolittle, adoptive daughter of Dr. Boolittle and personal friend to all creatures great and small! Rath will not sit down here and wait for Creature Control to go away! Rath is gonna smash their faces in!" Rath roared in Jane's face, blowing back her hair and cheeks from the force of his yelling. With a battle cry, Rath smashed through a solid rock wall and turned to the left, yelling the whole way. Spectra and Jane just stood there a few moments, stunned. "Should we go after him?" Spectra asked, digging out her precious iCoffin.

"I should think so. Sphinx knows what would happen if he got into the school." Jane said getting up from her chair and giving chase after Rath, Spectra and her creature friends following closely behind. They expected to madly chase the sound of his yelling through the tunnels for hours, twisting and turning down passageways until they found the Appoplexian. Instead, they quickly caught up to him at a crossroads, Rath yelling at the top of his lungs about not being good at making decisions. "Interesting. I guess the old saying "brain over brawn" is true," Jane noted as they came upon him. "Ben appears to not be very bright when in his current form, in comparison to his great strength." She hesitantly walked up to the enraged Appoplexian and put a cautious hand on his arm. Rath stopped yelling and whirled around to face Jane, a growling escaping his teeth. "What do you want Jane Boolittle, adoptive daughter of Dr. Boolittle and personal friend all creatures great and small!?" he yelled. Jane made a mental side note that Ben would always speak in the third person in his current form, as well as always yell the full title of whomever he was talking to.

"Um, Ben? Rath? Whoever, do you think we could calmly talk this out?" she asked kindly. Rath growled and grabbed her by the head, lifting her up to eye level as she squeaked with fright. "Lemme tell ya somethin' Jane Boolittle! Rath does not talk things out calmly with anyone, especially with the likes of you!" he roared "RATH WANTS TO SMASH SOME FACES IN!" he bellowed, drawing back his arm and throwing Jane down the tunnel. The girl screamed and hit the stone wall hard, sliding down to the floor, dazed. She blinked and shook her head and caught one look of Rath's enraged face. She sniffed and burst into tears, running back towards the chamber. The creatures all glared at Rath and ran after her.

"What? What did Rath do!?" he asked. Spectra rolled her eyes and sighed. "It's simple math, Ben."

"Rath's not good at math!"

"Look, my point is is that you hurt her feelings." Spectra said. "You deliberately hurt her, both mentally and physically."

Rath pouted. "Aw, Rath's not good at apologizing." he huffed. Spectra glared at him. "But Rath will try." he added. Spectra nodded with approval and led the large Appoplexian down the tunnel. They soon returned to the chamber where Jane was crying in the corner, the small owl and Whatzit comforting her as the other creatures surrounded them, growling and hissing at them, mostly Rath. "Easy guys. Rath's here to apologize." Spectra explained as a familiar beeping sound filled the chamber and a green light washed over Rath.

"Er, scratch that. Ben's here to apologize." Spectra corrected herself as Ben stepped forward, wincing as the cat scratched at his leg with an angry hiss. The rest of the creatures let him walk by, though they seemed more than ready to attack him if he so much as hurt their friend again. Ben cleared his throat. "Hey, um, Jane?" he asked with a nervous voice. Jane sniffed and turned to look at him, tear lines down her violet cheeks and her eyes tinted red from crying.

"What?" she sniffed again.

"Look, I'm sorry for what happened back there," Ben apologized sheepishly. "Rath doesn't always know what he's says or means. Sometimes he's a real softy if ya give him a chance."

"You do realize you are talking about yourself in the third person, right?" Jane asked with the ghost of a smile on her face. Ben smiled and helped her up. "Yeah, Rath kinda does that." he said sheepishly. "Look, if there's anyway I can make this up to you . . ." he said, letting the sentence trail off. Jane smiled as the snake slithered up her arm and the owl landed on her shoulder. "Well, if you could do this one small favor for me." she said with a nervous smile. She leaned in and whispered into Ben's ear, his face going from a listening one to one of surprise, and then one of acceptance. "Uh, okay. I think I can do that." he said. "Do you want to see anymore of my transformations while we're at it? I mean, we got a while to wait." he said, pointing upwards where the faint yells of Creature Control sounded off.

"I would like that very much." Jane replied with a smile. "But this time, perhaps you should pick the transformations."

* * *

Zs'Skayr was in a happy mood, more than he had been in a long while. He had been wandering the halls of Monster High, searching for pieces of Dr. Viktor's device, as well as keeping tabs on Tennyson. So when he had found Tennyson in his Transylian form, he couldn't resist the chance to humiliate and make things more difficult for him; he had silently flown up to his Omnitrix, invisible, and slapped the watch face, turning him into a hideous Vulpimancer. Zs'Skayr grinned; a fitting form for the nuisance that had managed to be a giant thorn in his side for many years.

His lackey, Kuphulu was elsewhere in the school, searching for the materials needed for Viktor's machine. What the weapon actually, Zs'Skayr didn't exactly know, but it had something to do with recombinant DNA and gene scrambling from what he could tell from Viktor's complicated blueprints. While he understood some of the scribbling, Viktor was still the brains of the operation. That didn't mean however, that Zs'Skayr was a weakling. He could easily posses any of his henchmen should they rise against him; that's what made him dangerous. Unfortunately, his last scheme had gone wrong due to a combination of ungrateful lackey's, a greedy partner, and the feats of Ben Tennyson and his band of lucky buffoons. Zs'Skayr cursed under his breath and flew off from the school's grounds towards the shelter of the woods where he had located his hideout.

* * *

The night of the Halloween Dance.

The entire school had made a turn out, gathering in a large chamber in the catacombs to dance and boogie the night away. Holt Hyde, as always, was at his turn tables, dishing out the tunes for the night and getting paid 5.50 an hour. He howled as the music thumped through the speakers and out into the decorated room as the student body started to dance. Holographic ghosts moaned and swooped through the air amongst the real phantoms and spirits. Purple and orange streamers hung from the ceiling as a disco ball spun overhead, showering the chamber in blues, greens, pinks, and purples.

"Oh, where is he?" Frankie said with a nervous voice. "You don't think he ditched me, do you?" she asked her decked out ghoulfriends. The young cadaver had her black and white striped hair pulled back into a long ponytail, her bolts gleaming in the low light. She wore a large blue and black plaid skirt with three layers ending in thin netting that showed off her mint colored legs. She wore large blue and black pumps that made her at least half a foot taller than any of her friends, making her somewhat of a giant. Clawdeen rolled her eyes as she adjusted her purple and gold dress. She wore large gold colored heels and a purple dress with gold, leopard prints on it and ringed with black fur at the shoulders. "Frankie, you're overreacting. Frankenstrike's a nice guy; he's not going to ditch you on the biggest night of the year." she reassured her friend.

Just then, Frankenstrike entered the room, dressed in an incredibly large black tuxedo with green trim. His hair was smoothed down and greased back as he lumbered down the twin staircases leading to the dance floor. Frankie was about to head over to when she noticed a much smaller figure hanging off his right arm, walking down the staircase with him. Frankie gasped when she saw that it was Jane Boolittle dressed in a single red, fern printed dress laden with jungle designs. The two monsters walked down the staircase and walked over to the ghouls, Frankie trying to hide her obvious hurt and jealousy. Hey, ghouls! Some party, huh?" Frankenstrike asked in his jolly voice that Frankie had come to love.

"What are you doing with Frankie's date, Jane?" Cleo asked suddenly, jabbing a finger forward. The mummy's steely gaze could have turned Jane to ice, it was so cold. Jane shook it off. "Hey, hey, no need for that stuff, dudette." Frankenstrike said, shooing Cleo off as the mummy gave him one of her angry glares. "I'm just escorting Jane to the dance," he explained to Frankie. "That okay with you?"

Frankie nodded and smiled, thinking about how ridiculous she had been; there was no way Frankenstrike would keep secrets from her. She walked over to the pair, hugging Jane and then taking Frankenstrike's arm. "You clean up nice," she laughed. "And I'm glad you finally decided to wear a shirt." she added as she hugged him. "What, jealous the ghouls will be all over me?" Frankenstrike joked, drawing a worried smile out of his date. "You know what? Forget I ever said that. Lets just dance, okay?" he said. Frankie vigorously nodded, practically dragging Frankenstrike out onto the floor as the music picked up, monsters swarming all over the dance floor as their favorite songs played, among them none other than _Witching Hour _by Casta Fierce.

The ghouls and student body danced the night away; Cleo De Nile and Deuce Gorgon danced the Egyptian in unison as Clawd and Draculaura did the Vampire Shuffle (Draculaura naturally dancing on the ceiling and for once, being taller than her boyfriend). Ghoulia and her date Slow Mo danced the Zombie Shake while Lagoona and Gil rocked the Sea Monster Shimmy. Frankie taught Frankenstrike, who had no idea how to dance in the first place and was as clumsy as a greased pig on roller skates, how to do the Cadaver Slide. Frankenstrike was having more fun than he had ever had in his life, only slightly more so than his first few times with the Omnitrix. He had only just realized how beautiful Frankie looked, the way her mismatched eyes lit up when she was around him, how she always seemed to be in a happy, bubbly mood.

"Ben, aren't you forgetting something?" a high, ghostly voice whispered into his ear. Frankenstrike yelped and startled to see Spectra, dressed in lavender, purple, and black party clothes hovering next to him, a mischievous smile on her lips. "Sorry to interrupt, Frankie," Spectra said. "But I need to borrow your date for a moment." she said. "And don't worry, I won't try anything funny." she reassured her when a worried expression crossed her face. Before Frankie could do anything, Spectra yanked the muscular monster away and up the staircase, out the doorway.

"What is it, Spectra?" Frankenstrike asked as she closed the door behind them. A dripping sound echoed through the cold, hollow tunnels of the catacombs, the dull thumping of the music bouncing off the walls. "I'm pretty sure you remember also saying "yes" to a certain plant monster, correct?" she asked, folding her arms over her chest as she hovered in front of him. "She's waiting for you, or shall I say _Swampfire, _at the main entrance to the school." Frankenstrike groaned and smacked himself; he had completely forgotten about Venus. He had been having too much fun with Frankie to remember. "Okay, okay. Just make sure Frankie doesn't coming looking for me while I entertain Venus for a while." he instructed her. Spectra sighed, but nodded as Frankenstrike jogged down the hall, towards the surface.

A couple minutes later, he skidded to a stop at the exit to the catacombs. He cracked the door open, a thin stream of light creeping into the dark recesses of the catacombs. Sighing with relief, he shrugged off his tuxedo, letting it fall to the stone floor. He quickly slapped the Omnitrix symbol on his right pectoral and let the green light wash over him, changing his form into that of a Methanosian. Swampfire quickly slipped on the tuxedo, thanking his lucky stars that Frankenstrike and Swampfire were the same size, and crept out of the catacombs. He quickly ran down the dark halls towards the rear exit, jumping over the schools back wall and running around to the front, rushing through the gate before skidding to a stop and trying to look the opposite of tired. It was however, impossible to even try when he caught a glimpse of a fretful Venus waiting on the school's front steps.

The young plant monster was dressed in a long, black, flowing ball gown with dark, pink thorn-like patterns looping their way around her. Her long, pink and green hair was pulled back into an even longer ponytail with a silver tiara with leaf designs just above her brow. Her eyes glanced at him and widened, her face turning a light shade of red as he strolled up to her, a smile on his face. "Evening, Gorgeous." he said, taking her hand and giving it a light kiss. Venus giggled and blushed like a little girl, normally not used to be given such compliments. She was used to people either yelling at her to shut up about the environment, or slamming doors in her face when handing out fliers for a neighborhood pick up, only sea monsters, plant creatures, and a few zombies among the few that even showed up to help.

"Shall we?" Swampfire asked, gesturing with his arm to the door. Venus nodded and took his muscled arm in hers, walking through the large doors of the school and towards the one that led to the catacombs. They walked the route of the tunnels, marked clearly by glowing skulls with signs in their grinning jaws. Eventually, the pair found their way to the marked doors, lights flashing under the doors frame. Venus paused, holding Swampfire back for a sec. "I like to make a flashy entrance," she said with a toothy smile. "Can you lend me a hand?" Swampfire grinned and grabbed a handful of seeds from one of the large thorns from his shoulders and threw it on the ground. The seeds sprouted into monstrous plants, growing large, bulbous hands and long, vine-like claws. Moments later, four large pumpkin monsters stood before them, awaiting orders. "You have your orders." said Swampfire, putting on his best sergeants voice. The pumpkins saluted as Venus giggled; the creatures then marched to the door, two of them flinging it open and the other two entering on either side it, letting out a loud, screeching howl, announcing their presence as every head in the room turned to look at them, the music screeching to a stop.

Venus took Swampfire's arm as he led her down the staircase, everyone watching them as the pumpkin soldiers closed the doors behind them and standing like guards on either side of the entrance. Cleo, was practically seething with rage at the thought of being outdone with her entrance to the party. "DJ, if you please?" Swampfire asked when they reached the bottom of the stairs. Holt flashed him a thumbs up and mischievous grin, switching off the records and sitting back as the music played; this song didn't require his usual jazzing. It was a slow dance after all.

Swampfire took Venus's hand and looped his arm around her waist, Venus wrapping her thin arms around Swampfire's broad back. The song began, and the two plant creatures twirled and moved around the dance floor as other couples joined in. Venus smiled and rested her head on Swampfire's chest as the music played, nice and steady with the occasional ghost's moan sounding off with the rhythm. Jane watched the two dance, satisfied that one of her few friends was having the night of his life. Frankie sat glumly next to her, watching the two move about the chamber. "At least they're having fun," she sighed. "I wish Frankenstrike were here."

"I'm sure he'll be back soon," Jane reassured her.

_Sooner than you think, _she thought to herself.

* * *

"Where is that stupid music coming from?" Charmcaster growled as she was awoken from her sleep. She shoved the towels off of her and grabbed her trusty mouthed pouch, slipping on her original clothes and stashing the ones she had stolen back in the closet. Without even bothering to look around, she marched out of the abandoned janitor's closet and began to look around the school for the sound. She wandered the halls, more than once coming close to being noticed by a janitor or a pair of overdressed monsters. She finally found her way to a short set of stairs leading to a low door. She pressed her ear to the door and heard a low, rhythmic beat on the other side. She clicked open the door and crept down the long, spiral staircase down to the main floor of the catacombs, tiptoeing through the passageways and tunnels as she followed the sound. After what she guessed and assumed to be hours, she sighed with frustration. She had noticed a few skulls with arrows in their mouths, but she had ignored them; now she was wishing she had payed attention to them. She sighed heavily and slid down a slick wall, sitting on the floor as she rested. A cloud of bats swooped over her head and down a high passageway, a dim light coming from it. She followed the lights and sounds and found herself at a pair of large, stone doors. With all her might, she pushed one open a crack and shielded her eyes as light washed out into the passageway. She could hundreds of monsters crowded into the room, dancing the night away as the music boomed through the speakers.

She glanced her eyes on either side of the doorway and nearly gasped when she saw four Mutant Pumpkins guarding the entrance, their hollow, yellow eyes on the dance floor as she slightly swayed from side to side with the beat. Charmcaster grinned and moved out into the hallway. She quietly recited a spell under her breath and flicked a finger down the tunnel, a small explosion sounding off. The stone doors rumbled open, and the four pumpkin creatures stalked out into the hallway to investigate the noise. Smirking, Charmcaster slipped into the party, unnoticed, sealing the doors behind her with another spell, just in case they came back in before she was done looking around. She glanced up and nearly screamed in fright when she saw almost a dozen ghosts dressed to impress dancing and flying around near the ceiling amongst the cobwebs, the occasional harpy or dragon joining them. Mummies and werewolves, vampires and sea monsters moved about the floor in time to the quick and fast paced music that rocked through the speakers. A table was set of to the side, lined with treats and drinks of all types to accommodate the different types of monsters. On the edges of the room were those students who were exhausted from dancing and taking a break, were too shy to dance, or just didn't want to dance all together; a few of them looked disappointed, namely a girl with green skin and wild hair who sat in between a tired werewolf and violet colored girl. And then she saw it. Or him.

Dancing in the center of it all, in the middle of a tight ring of monsters, was a hulking creature that she had only seen a couple times; he was large, extremely muscled, and had two large conductors sprouting from his back. She knew it was him as soon as she saw the green in his eyes; Ben Tennyson. He was doing a wild break dance to the howling music as the monsters around him egged him. What seemed to be a smaller and more feminine version of him was off to the side, cheering him on with a wide grin on his face. She gritted her teeth and stop herself from doing something she would later come to regret. She calmly sucked in a deep breath to calm herself down before reciting another spell, watching as she suddenly became invisible to those around her. And just in time to. After more than a couple minutes of pounding on the door, their screeching howls being drowned out by the music, the Mutant Pumpkins entered the room again, taking their positions on either side of the door once more. She mentally kicked herself for nearly losing control. _Wait for the right moment, Hope. Wait for the right moment, _she thought.

* * *

Over the next couple of hours, Ben tirelessly switched between his dates, always dashing out of the room claiming he had forgot something or that he needed to use the bathroom to hide his transformations. He was sure that his dates, Frankie and Venus, were getting more than suspicious, and from the warning stares Skelita, Lagoona, Jane, and Ghoulia were giving him, his suspicions were correct. Spectra, was no where to be found, most likely hanging out with a few of her ghost friends near the ceiling. He had just rushed back from another transformation, changing back into Frankenstrike, before exhaustion overcame him. He asked Frankie for a break and staggered over to the concession table, grabbing the punch bowl and downing the entire thing in one gulp as some of the guys stood there wide eyed, clearly impressed. One of them, Heath if Frankenstrike remembered correctly, was so impressed he tried to copy him to impress a tall, cold girl wearing a shining dress that looked like ice. To put a long story short, Heath had managed to soak himself to the bone and get Frankenstrike wet in the process. Not having a replacement, Frankenstrike was forced to tear off the top half of his suit, clearly upseting a few guys when their dates wouldn't stop staring at him. He gave an apologetic look and went to sit down on one of the chairs lining the walls. A few moments later, Hoodude came up to him, Robecca on his arm.

"Hey, man! That was some wild dancing out there!" the voodoo doll cheered. For the sake of everyone at the dance, Headmistress Bloodgood had asked Hoodude to not rent or borrow a suit from anyone and to stay away from the concession table and DJ stand. Hoodude was still more than happy, especially when Robecca, had asked him to the dance. Frankenstrike could clearly tell something was bothering the young automaton. "Something wrong, Robecca?" he asked, his voice rumbling as he talked. Robecca sighed as she sat down next to him, Hoodude sitting on the other side of him so that they were juxtaposed to him. "I know this may sound a little sappy or impolite, but I was really hoping to go to the dance with Clockwork. I guess he's grown on me, the little golem." she sighed, staring dreamily off into space. "Still, I guess I had a fun time without him here. That time when Hoodude fell into the punchbowl was smashing." she giggled as Hoodude whistled nervously. Frankenstrike chuckled and ruffled the voodoo doll's hair. "You're a good man, Hoodude. Don't let anyone tell ya different." he said. Hoodude smiled and bounced from his seat as another slow dance came on. He took Robecca's arm and led her out onto the dance floor, only tripping twice on the way there without injuring anyone.

Frankenstrike watched them go, feeling a little sorry for Robecca. He knew that she was a nice, clever girl with a heart of pure gold under that hard, metal exterior. She truly deserved to dance with the one she loved, even if it might be for the last time. He was about to go up and leave when Frankie stepped in front of him, cutting him off from the exit. "Where you going?" she asked, a worried look on her face. "I have to do something quick." he answered, pushing her gently aside. He heard the fast clopping of Frankie's heels as he walked along. "What is it? Will it take long?" she asked with distress. Frankenstrike shook his head. "Naw, it only take a couple minutes. I'll be back before ya know it. I just have to take care of something for a friend," he told her, walking up the stairs and exiting through the doors, leaving Frankie was a sad expression. The young cadaver sighed with misery and walked over to the side and plunked herself down in a chair next to Venus, who looked equally disappointed. "Date not back yet?" Frankie asked her. Venus sighed and shook her head. "He's been gone a long time. And he promised to be back soon." she confessed.

"Frankenstrike just left," Frankie added. "Said he had some quick business to attend to." Venus was about to add in when the doors to the chamber banged open and a large, metal Goliath lumbered into the room. He wore a stretched out pair of black pants, with the top half of him exposed, showing his green interior as gears clacked and turned inside him. He had in upturned smile on his face as he walked down the stairs, a cry of joy coming from the crowd of the student body as Robecca shot over to him, pouncing on him and sending him to the ground. Hoodude wasn't far behind her, curious as to way his date had just left him in the middle of a slow dance.

"Clockwork! You made it!" Robecca cried happily, hugging the Chronosapien close as he climbed to his feet and set her on the ground. "Was there any doubt I would?" he joked as Hoodude caught up to them, a look of surprise of his face. "If I may have just one dance with her?" Clockwork asked him, a pleading look on Robecca's face. Hoodude jerked his head up and join, a goofy smile on his face as he gestured to the dance floor. "But all means, go right ahead!" he said cheerfully. Clockwork smiled and led Robecca out onto the dance floor, taking her hand and wrapping his arm around her waist as they moved along. "Do you waltz?" Robecca asked.

"Not very well." Clockwork admitted.

"Then I'll lead." Robecca grinned, pulling the lumbering, metal giant along as the music soared and they stepped in time to the rhythm, Clockwork's heavy footsteps only being slightly drowned out by the music. Robecca was in heaven; she was dancing with the love of her life and had danced half of the night away with a very good friend of hers who was more than willing to make her happy. She felt like the luckiest girl (monster? Robot? Creature?) in the world when she leaned into his metal chest and he gave her a light kiss from his still mouth. Robecca sighed, and the two stood still as the music ended. "How did I do?" Clockwork asked her.

"Simply smashing." she laughed, hugging him again.

"That's good. Unfortunately, I must leave. I shall return someday, my Metallic Sweet." he told her as he kissed her one last time and clambered up the stone staircase to the exit, waving good bye before walking between the four pumpkin guards. He lumbered down the hallway a little before slapping the Omntrix symbol on his see through plating, changing him into Frankenstrike. He was hoping to change into Swampfire and please Venus one more time before he left, but the Omnitrix apparently had ideas of its own. Frankenstrike sighed and rested against the cold wall of the catacombs; he didn't know how much longer he could keep the charade up. Eventually, Venus or Frankie would figure it out, and all of heck would break loose. But he would cross that bridge when he got there. Now, he had to dance one more time with Frankie before calling it a night. Recomposing himself, he walked back into the party and towards a happy Frankie, unaware of a pair of invisible eyes that traced his every movement.

_Well, well, what do we have here?_ Charmcaster thought to herself as another slow song began, the second to last one for the night, and Frankenstrike pulled Frankie out onto the floor to dance with her, just simply rocking back and forth as the music played. _Two love birds dancing on the floor, and another on the side lines? Not cool, Tennyson. Not cool._ she thought with a mischievous tone. She would wait for the song to end before striking. And then he would pay. Oh, yes, he would pay for the final time.

* * *

Frankie was having the time of her life; the entire dance had led up to this very moment. She had loved just dancing along with Frankenstrike, watching him entertain the masses with his killer moves. Sure, she had been a little miffed and disappointed at his constant disappearances, but those were easily overlooked as the slow, soothing music played. She glanced over at her ghoul friends, watching as they danced with their dates. She caught a glance of Holt, who was sitting back in a chair behind the turn tables. He through her a thumbs up, and she cracked another smile; her face was beginning to hurt. "Oh, Frankenstrike," she sighed, resting her head against his exposed chest. She was surprised it was surprisingly hard like a rock, and yet soft and smooth, save for the long scar that raced across his chest from the strange circular device in it. Now that she was close enough, she could see it actually protruded a bit out of him, the simple black and green design seeming to call out to her to touch it, to press it like a button. She ignored the thought and returned to gaze upward at Frankenstrike who was holding her tight. A mischievous idea occurred to her, and with a quick jump of her heels, she bounced up and pecked Frankenstrike on the cheek, blushing as he froze.

"Did you just . . . ?" he asked, surprised.

She nodded, nearly yelping in fright as Frankenstrike yanked her upwards to crash his lips against hers in a large kiss. Her eyes widened before she relaxed into the kiss, the nervous butterflies that fluttered around in her tummy vanishing with ease. She didn't know which way was up or down, she felt so good, as if everything that had beat her down in the past or currently bothering her had vanished in that simple kiss. "Wow." was all she could say as a dreamy look crossed her face.

"Best night ever." Frankenstrike sighed. He caught a look at Draculaura and friends, most which were trying desperately to contain their excitement for their friend. "I love you, Frankie." he said, pulling her close. Frankie couldn't have been happier, or more red in her life. "I love you, too." she sighed.

"**Eterla Morbulous!"**

Everyone turned to see none other than Charmcaster standing boldly on the railing of the balcony overlooking the dance floor. The pumpkin guards were on the floor, most likely dead. Holt slapped his hands on the record table, the music coming to a literal screeching stop. Before anyone could react she lashed out her hand, a purple burst of swirling energy rushing out and aimed at Frankenstrike. The blast him straight in the chest, knocking him to the floor with a loud crash. He jolted and thrashed about for minute before a loud beeping sound filled the room, amongst the gasps of surprise and fright. Frankenstrike sucked in a deep breath as a blinding, green light filled the room. After a couple minutes, the light died, returning the room to its former lighting of the torches. Everyone blinked and rubbed their eyes, when suddenly someone screamed. No one knew who it was, they were all to busy staring at the figure that lay on the floor, dazed.

"Frankenstrike! Where are you?" Frankie frantically cried out as Ben groaned and sat up, rubbing his sore head. "Someone call my name?" he moaned absentmindedly, unaware of what he said until he realized all eyes were on him. "Uh, did I just say that out loud?" he asked quietly. Frankie right now, was hyperventilating with shock and worry, clutching her chest as she heaved in and out. "Easy, Frankie, easy!" Ben said, reaching with a hand. A low growl came his left and he turned to see Clawdeen growling at him, her teeth and claws exposed, daring him to touch her friend. Draculaura was hugging Clawd tight as her boyfriend watched him with a cold stare. Deuce's snakes writhed and hissed angrily, his hands on his sunglasses, prepared to tear them away and stone him. Ben quickly decided to back away.

"Who-who-who are you?" Frankie asked with shaky voice after a couple minutes. Ben opened his mouth and then closed it again, his mind racing along at a million miles per hour. He had been living a lie. He had been lying right through his teeth ever since he had set foot into this dimension, and it had just come to bite him back in the butt with the sharpest fangs available. Ben sighed heavily. It was time to let it all out.

"My name is Ben Tennyson," he began slowly. "I also go by . . . . Bullfrag, Ripjaws, Clockwork, Swampfire, or . . . . . Frankenstrike." he finished, feeling like everything he had said was made of lead and concrete. Everyone gave a collective gasp, though some, like Cleo, were still skeptic. "Prove it." she said with a steely gaze. Ben sighed again and pinched his brow. "Fine, fine." he grumbled before holding up his wrist for the crowd to see. "This device, called the Omnitrix, allows me to turn into aliens. And yes, I said aliens." he added when he saw some eye rolls. With great reluctance, he activated the watch and aimlessly scrolled through the listings, slapping down on the watch face as his few friends watched with wide eyes of fear and pity.

A green light washed over him as the Omnitrix changed his DNA on the molecular scale. The changes began as his skin turned icy blue, thick scales forming on his molding skin. His back swelled and hardened into a thick, hard, black shell. Four, large, blue dorsal fins sprouted from his back with a sickening sound as his face bulged outwards, black stripes forming around his eyes as pointed teeth began to line his jaws. His wrists swelled as four claws formed, chest plating appearing on his belly. The room temperature seemed to get lower as a icy vapor escaped from his nostrils, the Omnitrix appearing on his chest, completing the transformation.

"Behold, Articguana." he said sadly. And before anyone could say anything, Articguana tilted his head upward and let out a blast of icy breath, ice instantly forming around the disco ball hung from the ceiling. Everyone stood there wide eye as the Omnitrix timed out, reverting Ben back to his normal form. "And that's all there is to know." he said, ashamed. He looked up to see mixed expressions on all the looks of the crowd; looks of fright, looks of pity, looks of rage, even looks of excitement. That last one was only briefly seen on Spectra's face as she appeared from a wall, her iCoffin for once not in her hand as she watched the whole thing unfold. He returned his gaze to Frankie, only to find her gone. He heard hollow clopping sounds, followed by the loud slam of a stone door. He turned to see Venus glaring at him with hatred and sorrow as tears trickled down her face. Robecca was no where to be seen, though a clue to her whereabouts was a thin trail of oil drops on the floor.

"Frankie, wait!" he called when he suddenly felt a cool, wet touch on his shoulder. He turned to see Lagoona looking at him with wide, saddened eyes. "It won't do any good, mate." she said sadly, just before Gil pulled her back with an angered look on his face. Headmistress Bloodgood pushed her way through the crowd and walked up to Ben with stern, yet frightened eyes. "Mr. Tennyson? I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave school grounds." she told him. "And to never come in contact with any of our students ever again, or I will be forced to call the authorities on you."

"Yes, Headmistress." Ben said, bowing his head with shame before slowly walking out of the chamber and over the carcasses of the Mutant Pumpkins, Charmcaster having watched the whole thing unfold, grinning maliciously. "Best night ever." she said under her breath as Ben left the chamber behind.

* * *

With a heavy heart, Ben slowly walked the cold halls of the catacombs, the stone labyrinth seeming somehow more foreboding and merciless. He walked along, avoiding the hollow roars of the beasts of the catacombs and ignoring the clouds of bats on the ceiling and oozing goo on the floor. He eventually came to the exit, pushing it open with his head. The halls of the school looked darker and more hostile than he remembered. He heard a quite sobbing from the down the hall and walked towards it, coming upon a crying Frankie who had collapsed onto the floor in front of an open locker. He looked up to find it was her own, small stacks of books on the shelves and pictures on the back of the door. He looked closely to see pictures of her family and friends, before something caught his eyes. On the floor grasped tightly in Frankie's hands, was a picture of him and her, posing in front of the school. Small, pink hearts with little black bat wings were drawn around them. Ben sighed heavily, unable to see her this way.

"Why?" Frankie sobbed.

"What?"

"Why? Why did you lie to me?" Frankie asked, not looking at him. Her heart had been torn in half, the pieces ground into the finest dust and they burnt to a crisp to be blown away by the wind. She thought she had found love once more, and once more, it just wasn't meant to be. Ben sighed heavily before speaking. "I . . . . I wasn't sure how to tell you," he said softly. "I've heard how your friends felt about Normies, and thought I-"

"Just go." Frankie suddenly cut in. "Just, get out!" she sobbed. Ben stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do. He reached out to touch her, but the image of every monster in the dance chamber glaring at him shot through his mind. And the hurt and pained look on Frankie's face just made it worse. With another heavy sigh he turned to leave.

"I did love you." he said softly. "I hope you'll someday realize that."

Without another word, he left Frankie, walking to the main entrance of the school in complete silence. The thumping music from below and long since stopped, though nobody had emerged from the party ever since. Ben slowly walked the halls, memories of first few months coming back to him. As he passed Mr. Hack's room, the memory of Bullfrag came back; he remembered how he loved watching the sadistic teacher whimper like a baby as he rescued the frogs from dissection, Lagoona's happy smile on her face for the rest of the day. The Creepateria brought back another memory, the one where he had rescued Robecca from being a pile of pieces. He had loved how she felt so happy, having conquered her main goal in life and finding a comforting friend in one day. The large hole in the wall brought the memory of the Kraken back to him, how good it felt to have fight alongside friends. Those memories however, were just that; memories. He knew he would never be allowed back onto the school grounds, and he couldn't even talk to the few monsters he had made friends with or try to repair broken friendships after he left. It felt like the world was crumbling around him again, just like the time Gwen and Kevin had left town (only this time there was no criminal clown to make fun of him). It was just him, a boy and his watch left to pick up the shattered pieces of himself.

He pushed the door open and inhaled a breath of chilly, night air. The leaves of Autumn fluttered in the cool breeze, dancing across the ground like the many couples down below him. He felt a stab at his heart when he thought about and pushed it away. He needed to clear his head; he obviously didn't belong in a world where monsters and humans hated each other, and him caught between both worlds. He would surely be shunned from the Normie schools, just like he had from Monster High. Right now, he just needed time to think and get his head on straight. Ben trudged down the steps and slowly walked across the grounds, the ghosts of his memories dancing around him as he remembered his first day at Monster High. And now, less than a month after that, it was his last. He was nearing the gate, when he felt a weak hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Ghoulia looking up at him with her saddened puppy eyes. Behind her were Lagoona, Skelita, Hoodude, and Spectra, all looking at him with pity.

"Ben, mate, please, don't do this," Lagoona begged. How she had managed to get away from Gil was beyond Ben, but he soon discovered she managed to talk him into it; he was waiting on the school steps, glaring at him with disapproval. Ben shook his head. "I can't," he said sadly. "I need time to sort this all out. Besides, everyone hates me." Hoodude gasped. "C'mon, man! We don't hate you! You're the coolest guy I know! And I only knew you for a couple of days!" Ben sighed to Hoodude. "Hoodude, I just can't do it. I need to go." he said gloomily, taking the voodoo doll's hand and shaking it before turning to Lagoona. He open his mouth to say something, but the young sea monster beat him to it, pulling him into a hug. "Good luck, mate. Come back soon, you hear?" Ben nodded, putting a smile. He almost hated to remind her that he wasn't allowed back onto the school grounds. He turned to Ghoulia, who merely gave him one of her odd smiles. He then wrapped Skelita in a hug, pecking her on her bony cheek as her face turned red. Ben grinned before turning to Spectra, who looked uncomfortable.

"Thanks, Ben. For everything. I-" Spectra began before she felt his lips pressing against her own. After a couple seconds of surprise, she melted into the kiss. She had never experienced one before in her life, either when she was alive or not. Now she understood why all the ghouls obsessed over boys. They soon broke away, Spectra's face a bright red. "Thanks for being there for me, Spectra. I couldn't have made it this far without you." he said to the young ghost. "And I'll never forget you. Any of you." he said, walking a short distance away from the group, giving them one last forlorn look, before walking away from the school's gates, his heart shattered into a million pieces. The iron gates slammed shut behind, blown by a gust of wind, but it signaled he was never to return and that he wasn't wanted there.

And as he left, each of his friends felt a piece of their own hearts go with him.

**Whew! Longest chapter yet! Now, for all of those wondering, I just decided to keep the dance all monsters to make things more simple (plus, I never got a chance to see Ghouls Rule. Never had the time). Also, I have decided to make this a harem story, but there will be one ghoul who'll Ben love the most. And Hoodude is _not_ part of said harem (just for those of you who were wondering)!**

**And for you BenxSpectra fans out there . . . . . ARE YOU HAPPY NOW (Sorry. I have eaten too much candy, and now I'm all hyper! Woo-hoo!)!?**

**And now, onto the pressing matters. Quite a few of you have been asking for Ben to receive a pet at some point, just like most of the students at Monster High have. While Ben probably won't be getting a pet Godzilla anytime soon (sorry ZILLAFAN), I have little idea of what animal he should get. So, I've decided to leave it up to you guys! Please leave your votes and suggestions in the reviews below among your other suggestions and comments.**

**Happy Halloween!**


	10. Pre-history in the Making

**Hello all you ghosts and ghouls! Another chapter out in just a couple of days! Man, I am _GOOD!_ Go ahead and applause, I will wait until you are finished.**

**Done? OKay, then!**

**Ben's secret has been revealed, and all but his close friends despise and hate his guts to no end. Charmcaster is ecstatic and can't wait to exercise her freedom! How long will the school last without Ben around? Find out!**

**As always, leave your comments below and PM me your suggestions! And if your idea doesn't make it into the story, feel free to make your own story! This website needs more Ben 10/Monster High anyways.**

**Enjoy!**

Viveka Stein rubbed and held her daughter as she cried into her shoulder. She herself, having been literally made for her husband, had never experienced a heart break, and didn't exactly know how to comfort Frankie; all she could do was hold her and tell her it would be all right while her husband set traps across the lawn and strung barbed hour over the wrought iron fence that surrounded the house. Whatzit, ever loyal, sat at her feet, whimpering and trying to comfort Frankie the best he could. "Sssh, ssssh. It's okay, Frankie." Viveka said, brushing her daughter's hair. Frankie sniffed and looked up at her mom with tears in her eyes. "Why?" she croaked.

Viveka sighed. "I don't know, Frankie. Having been made for your dad, I don't know what it feels like to be betrayed. I don't know what you're going through. All I can do is try my best." Frankie seemed somewhat satisfied with the answer and buried her head into her mom's shoulder. Moments later, Viktor came tromping into the living room, an anger and irritated look on his face and plunked himself down in his arm chair and sighed, rubbing his temples. "I warned you, dear. That boy was nothing but trouble." he said. A glare from his wife, and he let the subject drop. "The traps are set, the wires up, and I have camera all over the place. There's no way that Normie will make it onto the property. Unless your claims are true." he added. Viveka shot another look at her husband, and he quickly excused him from the room, heading down to his lab with Whatzit at his heels.

"Did he ever . . . .?" Frankie sniffed.

Viveka shook her head. "I don't know, dear. But if he felt as bad as you claim him to, I'm pretty sure he might be hurting as much as you are."

* * *

True to her word, Viveka was right. Ben felt absolutely horrible and down right cruddy, to put it lightly. He had quickly dashed back over to Spectra's place and gathered his few belongings before leaving; a black and green iCoffin he had bought with some of his wages from the Coffin Bean, some money, his hoodie and his wallet. He now shamefully walked down the lone street into town, a low fog creeping over his feet as he walked. With his head down and his white sweatshirt hoodie pulled over his head, he turned down an alley and walked until he came to the dead end. He sighed and hit his head against the wall, sighing. Not in the mood to transform, he jumped up and grabbed the lip of the wall, pulling himself up and standing up on the edge before steadily walking onto the low rooftop. He looked around and sighed when he saw all the other roofs were much to high to reached. He activated the Omnitirx and selected his alien before hitting the activation. The thrill of his transformations no longer gave him joy. They just seemed somewhat pointless.

His skin hardened into a thick exoskeleton, becoming jointed and plated as it turned green. His bones vanished as skull became pointed and even thicker than before. His teeth became sharp and his eyebrows became pointed as his eyes turned green and quick sighted. His legs bent backwards, a slightly painful process as a sort of webbing formed between the joints. His toes disappeared, three sharp claws taking their place, two in front, one in back. His two middle fingers disappeared, the ones left becoming sharp. He felt muscles packing themselves on top of each other in his legs as his body became divided into two sections, his butt expanding out into a slim thorax. A set of black and green overalls formed over his body as spines formed on the back of his arms and legs, completing the transformation. Without his usual flare, Crashhopper bounded off the building, soaring through sky before landing on the nearest roof top, a good two stories away. He continued his aimless bounding, his mind racing at a hundred miles per hour as he went.

He had finally lost it; he had gotten careless, more so than he had been. His heart ached not only for those he had left at Monster High, but those he had known back in his own universe. He missed Gwen and Kevin, Rook, Grandpa Max, his parents, Ester, even Mr. Baumann. He wondered what they were doing, if they were desperately scouring the universe for him. Was Bellwood in danger? Was there even a Bellwood to return to? _Could _he even return? He sighed and pushed the thoughts out of his mind as he landed on the ground in what appeared to be a basketball court. What _used _to be a basketball court. Or was it Casketball? He had no idea if he was in Monster or Normie part of town. The court was long since abandoned, the gate pad locked shut and buried under a large pile of junk. More piles were pushed up into the corners of the court, leaving the center mostly bare. The familiar beeping met Crashhopper's ears, but he didn't care when he was changed back. With another sigh of dismay, he activated the Omnitrix once more, the green light washing over him as he changed.

Deep orange fur sprouted all over his body, as if a bomb filled with hair suddenly exploded inside of him. His lower jaw jutted out as his teeth became sharp and menacing. The wave of fur raced over his face, covering his eyes as they suddenly vanished all together. He could feel his ears disappearing as what felt like gills take their place. In actuality, they were sensitive ears able to pick up the tiniest of sounds. His shoulders and arms swelled as his dull nails became sharp claws. His legs twisted and formed into the hind legs of that of a dog as a thick green color appeared around his neck, the Omnitrix symbol in the middle. Wildmutt growled and began to sniff the ground furiously, following a smell until he came to a large garbage pile. Using his large paws, he dug into the junk and pulled out a stained mattress with his jaws, spitting out the horrible taste from his mouth after he dragged it into the center. He lowered his nose to the ground again and sniffed the ground once more, digging into another garbage pile before pulling out a ratty blanket. Wildmutt dragged it over to the mattress and bedded down as the Omnitrix timed out. Ben yawned and pulled the blanket over himself.

_So this is my new life_, he thought. _Wonder how the ghouls are holding together_.

* * *

Spectra sighed, and picked at her food with her fork. Skelita and Ghoulia each pushed their trays towards the center of the table, unable to eat as Jane Boolittle (hiding in a vent near a table) pushed her tray out of the vent slot. Hoodude sighed and rested his head on the table. "This bites." he mumbled. "Tell me about it." Spectra said, dropping her fork into the unidentifiable glop on her food tray. The girls, plus Hoodude, had been miserable ever since Ben had left. Hoodude felt like he had lost his best friend, next to Scarah. Ghoulia, while not especially close to Ben, still missed him. She felt like there was a part of her that was missing that only Ben could fill with his antics. Jane felt as if she had lost a friend she could count on, when so few people excepted her. Skelita and Spectra, having both been kissed by him, had a piece of their hearts missing (Skelita didn't exactly know what that was like, as she had no organs to begin with, nor did Spectra). In a word, life at Monster High had become miserable.

Headmistress Bloodgood had set up security stations at all entrances and exits, where students and their bags would be checked to make sure Ben wasn't trying to reenter. Bloodgood was sure Ben wasn't a horrible person, but the way the student body felt about him put a bad image on Normies, and therefore jeopardized her ultimate goal. Unfortunately, the guards at the stations weren't entirely polite, and would sometimes pilfer whatever they wanted from the students backpacks or refuse to let them enter should they not cough up some cash. Spectra herself, being a ghost, had never had any problems with the guards, but Ghoulia had lost her laptop (furiously biting the guard after he stole it), Jane had lost her walking stick, and several members of the student body had lost their books, iCoffins, and even their homework. And whenever they complained to the Headmistress, the guard would always be able to hide the stolen loot. Since the students never had any proof, Bloodgood had stopped believing them a long time ago. One student however, was having the time of her life.

With a sly smile on her face, Charmcaster walked down the row of tables with a tray of . . . something . . . in her hands. She had succeeded in her goal, to eliminate Ben Tennyson and to gain power. She had yet to come across the power she had sensed a few weeks ago, when she had first entered the Monster High universe, but she could sense it. It was close. She could almost taste it. She walked down another row of tables, trying to look as if she were searching for a place to sit and eat her lunch. She could sense the surge of power coming from somewhere close. She soon found it when she came across a girl just a couple inches shorter than her. She had light pink skin, freckles, and pointed ears that framed dark pink hair tied into a segmented ponytail. She wore black, silk pants and a blue and pink top. She wore elaborate earrings in her ears and had bright green eyes.

Charmcaster smiled maliciously; she could feel the power radiating off of the girl in waves, as if that was all she was. The sorceress quickly identified the girl has a genie. She had come across several genies in her past, but those usually turned out to be crafty Celestialsapiens who had been banished into a small bottle to grant wishes to mortals. And every time she came one of them, they always somehow managed to turn things around in their favor and escape her clutches. She gripped her tray tightly at the memory, but quickly pushed it away when she noticed the pink girl was dumping her tray and leaving the Creepateria. Alone.

Charmcaster grinned; now was her chance. She quickly tossed her tray towards the trash bin, a long tentacle from the kitchen catching it before it fell in, and rushed out of the Creepateria and ahead of the girl, pretending she was late for something. She rounded a corner and peeked out; the girl was walking right towards her, and didn't even know she was there. Charmcaster chuckled and stuck out her foot just as the girl reached her, tripping her. Charmcaster quickly jumped on her and pinned her to the ground, the genie screaming with fright. Her screams would attract attention, but Charmcaster didn't care; she would absorb all her power before anyone could do anything. With a face that could only be matched a hungry predator, she raised a hand and let a ball of purple energy form between her fingers as the girl watched with fear in her eyes.

"**_Absorin Extracius!"_** Charmcaster cried as she thrust her hand down and into the girl's body. The genie convulsed and screamed at the top of her lungs as her eyes rolled into the back of her head. Passing students watched with horror, too horrified to do anything. Even Manny had turned tail and run the other way. Spectra gasped as she heard the screams and disappeared through the floor, a single thought on her mind as she raced through the ground.

_I need to find Ben, _she thought.

* * *

Wildmutt growled and sniffed the ground, walking around the alley. It had been a couple of days ever since he had made his camp at the abandoned basketball court, and he had been using his Vulpimancer form quite a lot to get by. And if he couldn't find anything edible, he just turned into Upchuck and ate. He had a limited amount of cash on him, and was saving it for an emergency, and thus saving it by eating things most others couldn't. A Normie couple passed by the alley and screamed in fright at the sight of Wildmutt, running away before the alien could do anything. At least he never had any problems with the police; after several reports of odd creatures roaming the streets at night, the cops had stopped listening, just assuming they lost monsters on the wrong side of town.

Having not found anything to eat, Wildmutt back out into the street in broad daylight. The streets were thankfully deserted and empty as he padded down the sidewalk and turned down another alley after a few blocks. He easily cleared the chain link fence to the basketball court, the wall of piled up garbage obscuring anyone's view of the place. The Omnitrix timed out just as he made it to the center of the court, Ben sitting down on the mattress and losing his eyes. It was no use. Being this close to the school was killing him. "Maybe I should go elsewhere," he sighed. "I hear Hex-ico is lovely this time of year. Or maybe Scar-is? Maybe I'll just move to the woods for now." he contemplated. Without another thought, he packed up the few belongings he had and scaled over the chain link fence. Making sure no one was looking, he activated the Omnitrix and slapped the activation button, letting the green light wash over him.

His skin began to crawl as it hardened smoothed into something similar to an exoskeleton, yet not at the same time. It turned black as it raced over his body, blue blotches with lighter centers appearing all over him. His fingers became sharper as they turned into claws, and he could feel his toes melt into toe as a third claw sprouted from his heel with a loud grinding sound. His teeth fused together into two plates that felt like they could bite through almost anything as his eyes widened and became larger, turning a bright green with three dots. Muscles piled themselves up on his chest and arms, but the most important and noticeable change however, was the itching sensation he got on his back and head. With a sudden, sickly sound, four large wings ripped out of his back, bigger than his entire body. Two large antennae burst out of his head. The wings and antennae flapped around for a few seconds before gently and silently wrapping around their owner like a cloak. The final piece of the transformation was a suddenly chilled feeling in his core, a feeling that ran through his veins and arteries that felt as cold as ice. The transformation was complete, and Big Chill took to the skies with a flap of his wings.

He soared upwards and looked around in the bright daylight to see the town looked very normal and human like. He turned towards the West and saw that the land slowly trickled into perpetual darkness, where the sun only occasionally shone through. Forests of leafless, gnarled trees dotted the landscape where the rows of monster buildings stood neatly, Monster High at the meeting place of the two landscapes. With a deep breath, the Necrofriggian pumped its wings and flew towards the West side, giving the school a wide berth as he flew. He soared over the vast Egyptian estate that he had learned to belong to Cleo and over the Stein's house, giving that place a wide berth as well. He passed a large, evil looking castle with rows of pink roses on the lawn, a certain part of the castle seeming out of place due to the pink glow found there. Big Chill grinned at the thought of Draculaura's sweet smile, but quickly pushed it away after the image of her hiding behind Clawd entered his head. He flew over the Wolf's house and passed Spectra's place while also swooping past what he assumed to be Lagoona's house, hinted at by the large, salt water pool out back that had its own personal coral reef in it.

He eventually made it to the woods, to a place where only a few houses stood, like a house that seemed to be made entirely out of gingerbread and candy, along with one that seemed to be surrounded by a cemetery. Big Chill deliberately chose to stay in the woods near the cemetery, mostly because he figured that was where Ghoulia lived. He knew he had to follow the rules, but he felt much better being near one of his friends, even if he was staying a couple hundred yards in the dark forest behind it. Another reason he chose to stay near the cemetery, was the fact that Robecca resided in the gingerbread house. Having no idea where her father was, she was taken in by the Home Ick teacher, Ms. Kindlegrubber, and thus lived there as a permanent resident.

Big Chill aimed low and came to rest in the arms of a large tree that overlooked the cemetery. With a heavy sigh, he leaned back and rested the Omnitrix changed him back. He closed his eyes and let sleep (or what he hoped was sleep) come to him. His dreamless slumber was soon short lived.

"BEN!"

With a yelp, Ben tumbled out of the tree, hitting several branches before landing hard on the ground with a low groan of pain. He rubbed his sore skull as he sat up to look at Spectra, who was hovering just a few feet over his head with a mixture of worry and fear in her eyes. "Ben, you have to come back to Monster High!" she yelled, grabbing him by the shoulders. "Come on!" she cried, pulling him towards the road, but Ben was digging his heels into the dirt, resisting as much as possible. "Spectra, stop it!" he yelled, and the young ghost let go. Spectra looked at him with concern. Ben sighed. "I can't go back, Spectra. I know you and the ghouls miss me, but I'm not going to disobey Bloodgood's orders. I don't want you to get in trouble just because of me." he told her. Spectra frowned. "Ben, listen to me. I don't care what Bloodgod says. They can lock me up in detention for the next 3,000 years for all I care! Some crazy, white haired, girl wearing a pink trench coat just attacked Gigi!" she yelled with fury. Ben's eyes widened at the description. "Hold up. This girl, did she have a crazy-cuckoo look in her eyes and was she blasting around pink magic stuff?"

Spectra nodded her head, and Ben's frown deepened. "Fine. But if we get arrested, it's not my fault." he said, walking towards the road as Spectra clapped her hands happily and followed him. Once in the middle of the road, Ben activated the Omnitrix, cycling through his aliens before coming to the one he wanted. "It's Hero Time!" he exclaimed, slapping the activation button and letting the green light engulf him as the Omnitrix did its work and began to change his DNA. Alien blood flowed through his veins as muscles piled themselves on him, everywhere to his arms and chest to his neck and legs, every part of him was getting bigger and stronger with each passing millisecond. His skin hardened into plate like armor that turned brown as large scales traveled up his legs and chest. His legs became thick and pillar like as his feet began to match those of an elephant. A thick tail sprouted from the base of his spine as he was forced to hunch over slightly. His neck became a little longer retaliative to his 20 foot frame and his lower jutted out his fingers swelled with power. A pair of black briefs and a green sash appeared on him, completing the transformation as the Omnitrix symbol appeared on the sash.

"Humungousaur? You couldn't have waited until we were there, Omnitrix?" he complained as he glanced himself over.

"The Omnitrix has a mind of its own?" Spectra asked, digging for her iCoffin.

"Not the time, Spectra." Humungousaur growled as he took off at a brisk jog, Spectra following closely behind him.

* * *

"Crikey! Come on, mates! We have to do somethin'!" Lagoona yelled as she ran towards Charmcaster and a helpless Gigi. Without even looking back, Charmcaster flung out her other head and sent a ball of mana at Lagoona, hitting her in the chest and sending her through a wall, where she stayed down. Clawd, Deuce, and Gil all rushed at Charmcaster, ready to dog pile on her when she opened her mouth, and another ray of pink colored energy shot out and hit all three boys, freezing them on the spot; no matter how much they tried, they were frozen in place, unable to move or even twitch. They could only move their eyes and watch as Gigi's life force was slowly drained away from her and absorbed in Charmcaster, making her far more powerful than she had felt in her life. She felt like she could do anything, go anywhere she wanted to, _destroy _anyone she desired. A sick thought crossed her mind about traveling back to her own dimension and finally eliminating Gwen. After finally obliterating Ben Tennyson first of curse, and taking his Omnitrix for herself. With the new power she was engulfing and thew unlimited power of the Omnitrix at her fingertips, she would be able to rule every dimension in every universe imaginable!

"Ahhhhyaahhh!" Ghoulia moaned as she quickly shuffled over to Lagoona and pulled her up with Skelita's help. The sea monster rubbed her head and watched, unable to help. She could already feel tears forming in her eyes as her insides began to boil with anger. She was almost ready to burst out into anger stricken tears when the ground began to shake and rumble in a steady rhythm as if a thousand cattle had suddenly decided to take a jog. Spectra appeared in front of them cringing at the sight of Charmcaster, but returning to a full smile on her face. "What is happening?" Skelita asked as she fell to the floor with the rest of the ghouls. Jane tumbled out of a nearby vent, fearing the tunnels and tubes would collapse in on her if she stayed. Spectra merely smiled and turned to look at the main door. Screams from outside could be heard as the guards dispersed with fear, when the front door was suddenly blown off its hinges and crushed into splinters as Humungousaur charged into the school without pause.

"Is that, Ben?" Jane asked, almost frightened at the sight of the infuriated Vaxasaurian. Spectra slightly nodded as Humungousaur's 20 foot frame collided with Charmcaster's frail body, knocking her off of Gigi and into a row of lockers. The ghouls quickly dragged an unconscious Gigi out of harms way as the rest of the student body ran away. With a loud roar, Humungousaur grabbed Charmcaster with a large hand and tore her free from the lockers, only to throw her into another row. "Keep your creepy hands off of my friends!" he yelled as he charged and rammed a shoulder into her, smashing through the wall and into the next classroom; Charmcaster only has time to put up a simple shield to protect her from the alien's wrath before Humungousaur slammed his fists down the dome, cracking it slightly. He raised his fists up again, prepared to slam down a second time and destroy the dome.

Charmcaster however, was ready, and just as he swung down, she deactivated the dome and rolled out of the way. Humungousaur missed and stumbled forward, carried by the momentum. Charmcaster, still on the ground, swiped his legs out his legs from underneath him with a swift kick that felt like she had just kicked a wall made of titanium. The giant still fell, and Charmcaster was pleased, despite the sharp pain in her leg. She quickly got up to her feet and jumped onto Humungousaur's back. With a roar, Humungousaur began to wildly run around, smacking at his back as he tried to get Charmcaster off of him. Charmcaster quickly steered him towards a wall and jumped off as he crashed into it and back out into the hallway. He turned around, only to be hit in the face by another blast of mana that sent him skidding back. With a low groan, he rushed forward again, grabbing a broken locker door and using it as a shield as Charmcaster through more bolts of energy at him before he slammed the locker door down on her head. She growled and knocked the locker door out of his hands.

"**_Mercuta verihitis!"_** yelled Charmcaster, holding up her hands a jet of crackling purple mana burst forth from her heads and socked Humungousaur right in the jaw. He flew back into a wall and fell to the ground with a defeated groan, unconscious. Charmcaster grinned maliciously and walked up to him with a confident gate and reached for the green sash around him when a low rumbling caught her attention. She turned, expecting some other large creature to come storming at her, but saw none. There was a loud cracking sound and she glanced up too late to see a large piece of ceiling come crashing down her, squishing her and sending her into blackness. Silence followed.

"Is it over?" Hoodude asked from within a garbage can. Skelita, Jane, Spectra, Ghoulia, and a now semi-conscious Gigi peered out from behind a wall to look upon, which was almost impossible thanks to a large cloud of dust and plaster that hung over the battle scene. The ghouls and Hoodude crept through the dust and rubble with caution, almost expecting something to jump out and attack them. Hoodude yelped as he suddenly tripped over something, and Jane hissed in pain as she held her ankle, now twisted. Hoodude grinned sheepishly and sat up to look at what he had tripped over; it was a large, burly arm covering rough plates. They traced the arm with their eyes all the way up to Humungousaur, who was out like a light. The gang rushed over and helped turn him over as Jane quickly read his vitals, putting her ear to his large chest to her his heart. She breathed with a sigh of relief when she heard a deep thumping, but began to sweat with worry when she noticed it was slowly down and that Humungousaur was steadily breathing slower and slower.

"He's dying." she managed to say before falling to her knees and holding herself. _Somehow, _she thought. _This is my fault, I just know it. Toralei was right. I should have just stayed back in the jungle. _Ghoulia did a double checkas Lagoona desperately tried to calm Jane down. Spectra and Skelita turned to Gigi as Hoodude tried preforming CPR on Humungousaur, something quite difficult to do when the victim is more than three times bigger than you. "We need a wish," Spectra said desperately. "Please?" she asked, knowing it was asking a lot. Gigi, being a genie, could grant wishes. But after several hundred wishes from other students, she had become rather exhausted, and had thus put a ban on wishing, stating it would only be used for an emergency. Plus, Spectra was asking Gigi to go against the rules, something Gigi never had done before. Gigi glanced between the two pleading ghouls, and Humungousaur's unconscious form, biting her lip nervously.

_Oh, Arabian sands! What do I do? Should I save him?_ she thought, her mind racing at a hundred miles an hour.

_**Of course, you should save him!**_

Gigi blinked. Where was that voice coming from?

_Wisp? Is that you?_ she thought.

_**Duh. Just because I;m stuck in a lamp, doesn't mean I don't keep tabs on what happens outside. I've been watching you ever since through your eyes, and I must say it's gotten quite interesting. Now, save him already! Do you really want his death on your conscience?**_

_Why do you care so much anyways? _Gigi asked. She had made up her mind, but the last question was what bugged her the most.

_**Because he's actually kind of cute. **_Wisp admitted. **_Happy?_**

"Very." Gigi said with a slight grin. Spectra and Skelita looked at her with an odd look, but quickly relaxed when Gigi told them she would do it. All they had to say were the magic words.

"I wish that we were all at the best doctor's office in all of New Salem." Skelita commanded. Gigi smiled and closed her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest and summoning her power. With a quick nod of her head, the hallway exploded with a bright light, and all of them simply vanished from existence for a split second.

* * *

Another flash of light later, and they arrived at the most advanced doctor's office in all of New Salem: Dr. Viktor Stein's lab. The lab itself was a standard mad scientist's laboratory with test tubes filled with suspicious looking potion's and serums, lab tables lined with numerous experiments and plans, and the exceptionally large conductors overhead that crackled with electricity. Lagoona frowned, helping Jane up from the floor. "Um, mate? This is the worst possible place to bring Ben!" she exclaimed. Was a sudden crashing sound from their left and everyone turned to see Humungousaur propped up against one of the walls, with Hoodude down by his leg. What made the noise however, was the table that Hoodude had tried to put him on top of, which was now crushed underneath the Vaxasaurian's massive bulk. "And that's probably the worst possible thing we could do." Lagoona sighed as the sound of a door opening came from somewhere, followed by the sound of heavy footsteps rushing down a set of metal staircases.

"What in the name of Igor's dentures is going on down here!?" Viktor roared. The girls all winced and Ghoulia covered her eyes at the sound of his voice echoing through the stairwell. "Oh, Sphinx. What do we do?" Jane whimpered as the doors to the lab banged open and Viktor's massive form stomped inside. "What are you ghouls doing here!?" he asked with an irritated look. He glanced over to where Hoodude was and nearly fell over when he saw Humungousaur's massive form. "I see." he noted. "And just who is this creature of yours? And how on earth did you get inside my lab?" he asked, folding his arm across his chest and waiting for an answer. Spectra nervously tapped her fingers together. "Well, uh, we wished for Gigi to take us to the best doctor's office in New Salem, and we ended up here." she answered nervously. Viktor nodded, listening. "And that _creature_ is Ben Tennyson," said Skelita. "The uh, boy who asked Frankie to the dance." she added with a worried smile. Viktor frowned and glanced between the ghouls and Humungousaur.

"I don't believe you." he said.

"Wait! We can prove it! Hoodude exclaimed. Before anyone could stop him, he crawled up onto the Vaxasaurian's knee and hit the Omnitrix symbol on his sash with a fist. A flash of green light filled the room, and Humungousaur's form disappeared to be replaced by Ben's much smaller one. Everyone gasped at the sight; Ben's shirt and sweatshirt were burnt to ash down the front and his chest was bruised and incredibly red. "Remarkable." Viktor noted as he walked over to Ben, picked him up in his hands and set him down on one of the many examining tables in the room. The large monster pulled out a couple medical instruments from some drawers and examined Ben, his eyes occasionally drifting between his body and the watch that resided on his wrist. "Hmm. Yes." he murmured to himself, listening to Ben's heart beat with a stethoscope. "It seems that he has suffered damage to his rib cage and respiratory organs." he concluded. "I will have to operate on him. If you would excuse us." he said, showing the small group the door. Spectra managed to escape Dr. Stein's grasp and remained near Ben, refusing to move. "Young lady, you are being a pain in fanny! Leave me to my work!" he ordered. Spectra refused to move and quickly flew out of Mr. Stein's reach. After a few fruitless minutes of trying to reach her, some of which ended in mild injuries, the large cadaver sighed and pinched his brow. "If will not leave for the operation, will you please just stay out of the way then?" he asked with mild annoyance. Spectra nodded and swooped down to rest near Ben's hair stroking his brown and holding his hand.

Mr. stein quickly busied himself by washing hands and putting on a large set of gloves while gathering his tools. After a few moments, he tore the rest of Ben's shirt off and injected him with some anesthetics, to make he didn't wake up during the operation. "Are you sure you want to stay?" Mr. Stein asked Spectra. "There is no turning back." Spectra nodded; she wasn't in the slightest squeamish, and had even talked to other ghosts who had met far worse endings than she had, some with their heads cut off or their guts spilled out around them. Spectra pushed the thought out of her head and continued to brush Ben's hair as Viktor Stein set to work.

* * *

Gigi bit her lip as the sounds of machinery cutting into something soft and somewhat squishy resonated throughout the stairwell that also acted as a sort of waiting room. Except it didn't have any magazines to read. Wisp had reappeared in her mind to see how things were going, and Gigi introduced her to the rest of the ghouls and Hoodude in the hopes of keeping their minds off the situation, but it did little to help. "On the bright side, I don't see any reason Headmistress Bloodgood can keep Ben out of school now. You know, if he lives and stuff." Hoodude piped up. Ghoulia smacked him upside the head. "Don't say that, mate! Of course Ben's gonna pull through!" she argued. She sounded confident, but was hiding her own fear. Skelita was nervously playing with her bones, picking off her fingers and replacing them in different arrangements before returning them to their original positions and starting all over again. Jane was huddled on the floor, head on her knees and quietly sobbing when the doors to the labs burst open and Mr. Stein walked out, drying his hands with a spare rag.

"He will pull through," he began. "But he will need a lot of rest. I would recommend you take him else where, as me and my family are not entirely comfortable with him staying here." Viktor added as he clambered up the stairs. "I shall keep this meeting a secret, but know this: if you ever bring that scoundrel onto my property ever again, it shall be the last he does." And with that, Viktor clambered up the rest of the stairs and out of sight. Once the sound of a door closing could be heard, the ghouls dashed through the doors and into the lab. Ben was still lying on the examination table with a bandage around his head and his bare chest laced with stitches and gauze. He had a black eye that they hadn't noticed before as well as a cut lip, but he seemed to breathing fine once more. Spectra hovered near his head, resting her own near his. She looked up when her friends came into the room and turned to look at Gigi, who slowly nodded.

"I wish we were all at my house." Spectra whispered. With another flash of bright light, the deed was done and the ghouls were gone.

"Hey! What about me?" Hoodude exclaimed. The voodoo doll pouted and made his way towards the exit, trying not to touch anything. It was however, short lived when he tripped out a wire and fell on his face, a table crashing to the floor behind him and the contents sitting on clattering to the floor. A dull thumb could be heard over head moments later.

"HOODUDE!" Viktor Stein roared.

* * *

For the next couple of days, Ben lay on the couch that sat in Spectra's abandoned living room. It was rather boring, watching over someone who didn't stir or wake, but Spectra didn't care. Gigi had asked her to send along her thanks, and walked out of the estate with a worried Skelita and Jane. Lagoona and Ghoulia left about an hour later, not wanting to make their boyfriends suspicious.

Given all that time doing almost nothing, Spectra did a lot of thinking. She touched her lavender lips, remembering that last moment before Ben had left Monster High, banished out of fear. Did she really love him that much? Or was she just this concerned because he was a good friend and helped her get tons of views on her dying blog? He was the best thing that had ever happened to her, a close second to finding and being enrolled into Monster High. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. _Oh, Voltage. I'm getting to be as scatter brained as Hoodude!_ she thought. She sucked in a deep breath and sat down on a chair near the couch, not daring to take her eyes off of Ben's still form. His chest rose and fell steadily, and every now and then his fingers would twitch ever so slightly. Every time that happened,

she would get all excited, hoping that he would wake up and kiss her again, only to be disappointed when he didn't.

Back to the thought that raged in her mind like an ocean storm. Did she love him? And even if she did, would he love her? Was that kiss, that oh, so sweet kiss, just a pity? A pity kiss given out to a friend that he barely cared about? And even if it was true, and he did love her, how could they ever be together? She was see-through, able to faze through solid matter and only move it when she really concentrated. He was a solid being, and a Normie no less. Any type of affection they would try to give each other would be hopeless. And yet, he had been able to give her that sweet kiss. She touched her lips again, remembering that moment, when nothing her and him existed, and all the trivial matters of the universe were gone.

A low moan caught her attention and she turned to look at the couch. Ben's hand was slowly moving to his head, to rub and cradle it like a new born baby. Spectra beat him to it and gently touched his head, quickly drawing it back when he hissed in pain. "Spectra?" he rasped. Spectra vanished from his line of sight, and he thought he had been imagining things. He was proven wrong when Spectra reappeared with a glass of water in her hand. Ben slowly reached for it, wrapping his fingers around the cool glass and brought it to his lips, savoring the cold liquid as it washed down his parched throat. It felt good.

"Thanks." he said in a much clearer voice. He slowly sat up on the couch and looked around at his surroundings. "Where am I? And where's Charmcaster?" he asked with slight annoyance in his voice. Spectra put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "You're at my place. And don't worry about Charmcaster. She's being held by the New Salem police." she told him, hovering down to his eye level with a small smile. "Gigi's safe, by the way. She wanted to thank you personally, but she had to get going." Ben nodded, happy to know that she was safe and mostly unharmed. "What about me? Am I going to be okay?" he asked, looking down at his bandaged chest. Spectra filled him in on what he had missed, and laughed lightly when she told him they had gone to Mr. Stein's lab. "I just know he put a time bomb inside of me." Ben joked. Spectra smiled and took his hand, drawing his gaze to hers.

All Ben could do was stare, and get lost into those endless, periwinkle orbs of hers. He truly did love her, for her fiery spirit and demanding voice. She was relaxed like him at points, but also had that seriousness in his voice that he had come to love when he first met Julie. Spectra however, didn't remind him in the slightest of Julie anymore. She was her own unique person, er, ghost, not just some cheap knock off of another person he knew he wouldn't love again. Ben mentally sighed. But how could he love three ghouls at the same time? He had never expected to kiss Skelita, or Spectra. He originally only had eyes for Frankie, but that relationship was hanging by a thread. He didn't see Spectra as a backup ghoul to go out with if his relationship with Frankie failed; he saw her as another ghoul he fell in love with, and she would never play second banana to anyone.

Before any of them knew what was happening, their lips met once more, somehow defying the fact that they would pass right through each other.

* * *

"Spectra Vondergesit, please report to the Headmistress's Office. Thank you." Headmistress Bloodgood's voice rang out over the loud speaker. Spectra had been expecting this; she had defied Bloodgood and her rules, not caring if she had gone anywhere near Ben or brought him back to the school against Bloodgood's reluctant wishes. She nervously bit her lip and checked inside her book bag, where an almost invisible Nanomech sat on her phone, trying to look like one of the buttons. Seeing that he was still there and not squished to a gooey pulp, she floated straight through the Headmistress's door, sending a startled Nightmare to hide behind Bloodgood's Office Chair. Bloodgood's body was currently signing papers, with her head sitting on the edge of the desk, patiently waiting for Spectra to sit. Once she had, she cleared her throat (again, how does a head do that?) and began to speak.

"It has come to my . . . attention . . . that you and Mr. Tennyson have broken one of my rules, one that I strictly enforced after the dance." the Headmistress began, before Spectra cut her off.

"I don't care! Gigi was in danger from that crazy sorceress, and Ben was the only who could stop her! Albeit, with some minor damages." she added in a lot softer tone. "Go ahead and expel me! I don't care! Ben did the right thing!"

Bloodgood gave Spectra an odd look, and Spectra was sure she was in real trouble now. She could see it now: hundreds of police cars swamping the school grounds, herself in handcuffs and Ben unable to rescue her due to his own restraints. She was shaking out of that nightmare by Bloodgood repeatedly calling her name.

"I'm not going to expel you." she said simply, and Spectra swore she nearly lived from relief. "And I will allow Ben to resume his studies here at Monster High." Spectra was sure she just lived.

"Does that mean I can come out now? It smells like egg salad in here!" a tiny, metallic voice yelled. Spectra opened her book bag and let the tiny, glowing ball fly out, much to Bloodgood's confusion. The office was suddenly filled with a bright green light as the Omnitrix reversed the transformation and changed Nanomech back into Ben. Nightmare whinnied in surprise and Bloodgood gasped. "I swear, I will never get used to that." she said quietly to her body, which nodded it's headless neck in agreement.

Ben was looking much better now. He was now wearing his usual black and green T-shirt under his white hoodie and had a pair of green headphones around his neck. He whipped out a a pair of black sunglasses and put them on, snapping his fingers with a goofy smile at Spectra, who blushed. Ben's arm however, was still in a cast, but it seemed to be getting better by the day. "Thanks, Bloodgood. I'll try not to destroy the school while I'm here." he joked.

"Speaking of damages . . . ." Bloodgood trailed off with a sly grin.

"Aw, man!" Ben sighed.

**And here is where it ends! Not the story of course, just the chapter. I'm not _that _cruel.**

**So it looks like Ben's back in Monster High, and it only took him 11 pages to do it (more like 2 ½ weeks in real time)! Just how will the student body act with him back in school! Will they ever forgive him? What will Ben have to do to regain their trust? And just what is Zs'Skayer up to and how will it affect Ben and Monster High? So many questions, so little time.**

**And yes, I know to a few of you that Bloodgood might have been a bit cruel, and I guess that's a bit of my fault. As some of you know, I _sometimes _skip words when writing, and that kind of made things look bad for her. So, no flames for her! Those strictly belong to Heath Burns and Heatblast!**

**Anyways, I have gotten many reviews from loyal readers telling me what type of pet Ben should have, and I have to agree that it should posses some sort of transformation ability, without the use of a Nemetrix or the likes. Continue to send in your ideas, and please keep them monster oriented and not from another universe. That just makes things confusing.**

**Hasta Luego, and Happy Dia de Muertos!**


	11. Rath of Con

**Greetings readers of all shapes and sizes (as well as species :). I have returned with another chapter. But more importantly, I've come to fill your screens with misery and woe (even if you quit reading)!**

**Anyways, I have read over all your reviews and decided that finding an animal that could change its form at will was exhausting, mostly because not an animal exists in the first place! They're either from a different franchise, or are actually people of sorts. So I've decided to go with an idea a loyal reader of mine has suggested that I think is very cool. For those you waiting and wanting for the hybrids (or hybrids of any of kind), this chapter's for you!**

**Thanks _Codecrash_!**

**As always, please comment and review, and don't be afraid to write your own stories if your _fang_-tastic idea doesn't make the cut (Wow. Pathetic _and _bad puns. I am on fire today)!**

**On with the story!**

"Is it really necessary for the guards to still be here?" Ben whispered to Ghoulia, ducking down so he could speak quietly with the zombie.

"Aaaaa-iiieeeeaahhhhh." she moaned, shrugging her shoulders. Still having difficulty learning Zombie, Ben naturally turned to Lagoona for a translation. "She said they still have a week left on their contracts." Lagoona sighed. Gil put a comforting hand on his ghoulfriend's shoulder, throwing Ben a cautious glare. The two boys had come to a mutual truce, as Gil didn't see Ben stealing his girl anytime soon. The threat was still there, so the fresh water monster was still wary of the Normie boy. "Don't worry, Lagoona. Like you said, we only have to put up with one more week of this." he told her. Lagoona smiled weekly, but still seemed highly annoyed. "I just hope I don't lose anything important." she sighed. Ben was about to say something when there was a sudden scream directly in front of them. As they were the last few in line, the court yard was mostly deserted, which unfortunately gave the annoying guards a little more freedom to fulfill their . . . . needs.

"Let me go!" a girl's voice cried. Ben easily looked over Ghoulia's short frame to see a pink girl even shorter than the zombie. She had black tied back into lush pig tails streaked with pink, and a small pink heart under her left eye on her pale, pink skin. She wore a short, white skirt and pink top with fish netted sleeves and leggings covered by long, lavender boots. She periwinkle eyes were widened with fear as the two troll guards in front of her grabbed her by her arms and began to molest her, grabbing her small breasts and licking her neck and ears.

"Please let me go!" Draculaura begged, tears forming in her eyes as one of the guards reached to tear off her shirt. The guards didn't even seem to care there were witnesses, though it was highly suspected that anything said against them would seem like nothing more than a tall tale. They were so oblivious, that they didn't even seem to notice a furious Ben behind them, his face turning a boiling red as sweat dripped down his face, his breaths become ragged and angry; Gil, Ghoulia, and Lagoona quickly decided to back up as he quickly reached for the Omnitrix and slapped the activation button without even looking at which alien hero he had selected.

Ben's arms swelled as his veins popped out, alien blood coursing through them as muscles piled themselves on top of each other. His legs became muscled as he stretched upward, growing taller and taller until he was a good four feet taller than Gil or Lagoona. Fur began to sprout all over his body, turning white on his chest, gut, hands, and feet, turning orange everywhere else. A few black stripes stretched across his broad back and shoulder, a handful of whiskers sprouting on his face. His eyebrows turned black and became longer as they grew up and off his head. His jaw jutted out as his teeth became sharper. His hands became larger and muscled as a single, black claw grew out of his wrist, completing the transformation as Rath roared, catching the troll's attention.

"LEMME TELL YA SOMETHIN' IDIOTIC TROLL GUARDS WHO ARE ATTEMPTING TO RAPE DRACULAURA, DAUGHTER OF COUNT DRACULA, LIKE WE'RE NOT EVEN HERE! RATH IS GONNA TEAR YA TO PIECES!" he roared. Words could not begin to describe how infuriated Rath was. One would need an entirely different word to describe it, and the troll guards strongly suspected that they would not be getting paid any time soon. Without hesitation, Rath grabbed both guards by the scruff of their necks and hurled them across the courtyard, handing a quivering and sobbing Draculaura off to Lagoona to comfort, before running after the guards. "Lewodan Anvil Drop!" Rath cried as he jumped high into the air and fell downward with his elbow jutted out. He struck both fat guards in the guts and grabbed them by the feet and swung them around. "Kinceleran Tornado!" Rath quipped as he finally let go of both guards and sent them crashing into the school wall. He rushed over and punched them both in the face before grabbing them and squishing them together between his hands into a ball. "SIRIUS BUTT-KICKING!" Rath roared as he drop kicked the guards over the wall and watched them soar, screaming, across the horizon. Growling and dusting his hands off, Rath lumbered back over to Draculaura, who was sniffing and crying, feeling incredibly frightened.

"You okay?" Rath asked in a much quieter tone. Draculaura sniffed and blinked her eyes, nodding slowly as Rath crouched down to her level. "I don't get why people hate you so much," Draculaura sniffed, drying her eyes. "I mean, sure, I get why they hated you before, but I can't see why they hate you now. You saved from those . . . . those . . . ."

"Ahhhhh-eeeeh?" Ghoulia supplemented the word.

"Exactly!" Draculaura agreed. She then suddenly jumped at Rath, looping her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly. Rath stood still for a moment before returning the hug, grinning sheepishly. "Aww, it was nothing." he purred as Draculaura cooed and scratched him under the chin. A sudden cough broke the affection and Rath gently set the small vampire down on the ground. Draculaura was about to say something when she noticed something else. "Um, do always go around naked?" she asked, turning red as she covered her eyes. "Rath doesn't understand." he said, cocking a large eyebrow. Draculaura giggled and set down her pink backpack, zipping it open and pulling out a small shopping bag. "I think these might suit you. They were originally for Clawd, but I think they'll look better on you." she giggled as she handed Rath a pair of large, black and green shorts. Rath quickly put them on (after accidentally putting them on like a shirt) and thanked Draculaura. "I'll see you around Ben!' she giggled. "I won't forget this!" Rath smiled and waved good bye, just as Spectra appeared out of the ground next to him, starling the Appoplexian. "Gah! Don't do that to Rath!" he yelped.

Spectra and laughed, pecking Rath on the cheek. Rath laughed sheepishly as she dug out her iCoffin and scrolled to her blog, the Ghostly Gossip. "I got it all on film! If you keep this up, you'll have your image fixed in no time!" she said excitedly. "Glad you finally got some pants." she noted Rath's shorts. "Come on, we're late for Claw-culus." she said, nodding to the others.

"Awww! Rath's not good with numbers!" Rath pouted.

* * *

"I hate him." Venus growled.

"Hate is a strong word, luv." Robecca sighed as she set her empty tea cup down.

"I think it's more of a strong dislike." Frankie interjected glumly.

The ghouls sat at one of the small lunch tables out in the bright sun, attempting to eat lunch. None of them had the stomach for anything tough. All three of the ghouls, more so Frankie than the other two, were still upset about what had happened at the dance; Robecca hadn't left her father's lab in more than two weeks, keeping the door locked from the inside so not even Ghoulia could get in. She had mostly been aimlessly tinkering down in the lab, creating small devices that would spark and explode within a few minutes of life.

Venus had locked herself away in the catacombs in a place that not even Operetta could find, and she looked absolutely horrible; her skin was a deathly pale green, and her leaves and vines were withering. Her hair was a mess, all tangled up in snarls and thorns and her eyes looked hollow and filled with sadness and rage.

Frankie seemed the most effected. She had massive bags under her red stained eyes, as if she had been crying instead of sleeping. She looked about ready to collapse, and her usual bubbly attitude had been stolen. And when Frankie was sad or having a bad day, it affected everyone; smiles and grins were less genuine, and there was less laughter and joking than before. Instead of running happily through the halls or fondly walking with the ones they loved, the students of Monster High merely shuffled and slithered their way about. Indeed, if Headmistress Bloodgood was the heart of Monster High, Frankie was the lungs.

One student however, seemed to be more upbeat than she had ever been in her entire life; her bright orange fur seemed a bit shinier and her long tail happily swished behind her as she walked. Toralei Stripe, mean and vicious as a caged tiger, strolled up to the three ghouls,a sly and mischievous smile on her lips that exposed her pointed fangs.

"Aww, looks like your Prince Charming was nothing more than a Normie in disguise," she purred, putting her hands on her hips as the ghouls all looked up at her with annoyance on their faces.

"Go away, Toralei." Venus mumbled, pinching her brow when the were-cat didn't so much as move an inch.

"Why should I? At least _I _have a boyfriend, unlike you three suckers." Toralei meowed with her confident grin on her face. "Rocco's not some disgusting Normie in disguise. But I'm sure you ghouls couldn't even tell the difference between your own friends and that stupid Normie." By now the ghouls were getting more and more ticked, steam lightly rising from Robecca's ears. "Where is that Normie anyway? Ben, was his name? Probably already half way across the continent by now, trying to get as quickly away from you three as possible. Hope he has a really fast alien." she chuckled as a shadow fell over her. The were-cat didn't notice as she continued to reveal in the ghoul's misery. "Wah, I'm Ben Tennyson, and I'm just some stupid Normie with a fancy watch that can turn into an even bigger freak that I was before! Wah, I'm surrounded by ghoul's are completely blind and-" Toralei was cut off from her mocking when a loud, savage, growl met her ears. Without even moving, she quickly guessed what it was.

"And, he's right behind me, isn't he?" he asked the ghouls with defeat. For once, all three ghouls looked happy to see Ben, but that didn't change what he had done to them. Toralei slowly turned around to look straight up at a very ticked off Appoplexian, his lips drawn back in a snarl as he glared down at the little were-cat in front of him. Toralei's fearful eyes traced over every terrifying detail of Rath, everything to the large, rippling muscles that flexed under his fur, to the sharp teeth that lined his well defined jaw. And thankfully, Rath was finally wearing pants, a pair of ragged green and black shorts to be precise.

"Give Rath one good reason why he shouldn't kick your sorry butt across school." he growled in a low and menacing tone that was unlike him, but made him about ten times more terrifying. Toralei gulped as Rath's eyes twitched, waiting for an answer as Spectra appeared from behind him, a small smile on her lips as she watched Toralei cower in fear. Before the were-cat could do anything, Spectra snapped a picture of the scene, making sure she got Toralei, Rath, Frankie, Robecca, and Venus in the shot, and flew off to post it on her site. Toralei gasped; if that picture made it onto that website, the one that everyone in the school was now reading, she would be ruined and forever unable to maintain her well respected attitude. With a hiss of annoyance, she ran after Spectra, expecting to easily catch up with the ghost in no time.

Except she wasn't going anywhere.

She looked behind her as she ran in place and gasped when she saw one of Rath's massive hands holding tightly onto her tail, keeping her from moving anywhere. With a loud "MEOWR!", she leaped at Rath's face with her claws outstretched and rake them across his face, drawing four, thin red lines. Before she could attack, Rath's other hand came up and caught her wrist. The other hand grabbed her other wrist before he moved them together and forced both of her hands into his one big one. With the other one he grabbed her kicking legs and held them tight as she brought her close to her.

"Lemme tell ya somethin' Toralei Stripe, enemy of the Fearleading Squad and anyone assosiated with it! YOU NEED A TIME OUT!" he yelled in her face, blowing back every strand of fur and hair on her body from the force of his angry yelling. "Segmentasapein Turn Around!" he added, swinging her around and around above his head before chucking her into the nearby fountain and wincing at the back splash of water. Toralei cried out in angry and quickly extricated herself from the spring, revenge written all over her face. Rath ignored it and turned to the three ghouls. "You okay?" he asked in a much quieter voice. One by one, Robecca, Frankie, and Venus bobbed their heads, and Rath grinned. "Good. I'll see you gals in class." he said before walking off, growling at the Were-cat sisters on his way back into the building.

"I hope he doesn't think that's just going to make things better between us." Venus huffed, sitting back in her chair as she watched Toralei stalk back into the building, her calculating mind already forming a plan.

Robecca shook her head. "No, luv. Ben's too smart to think like that." she said. "Just one of the many things that makes the incident all the worse." she sighed.

"How can you tell what's going on in the brain of an alien anyway?" Frankie asked. "From what I've heard, that one's a little dim." she added, hardly believing she had been able to say the word in the first place, as she wasn't the kind of girl who used them often, even the most mild of ones.

"Good point." said Robecca as she stood up and picked up her bag. "Well, guess I might as well try getting a heads start." she told her friends. The two ghouls waved her off as she dashed back into the Creepateria on her rocket boots, skillfully avoiding other students and staff on her way to Mad Science. She turned down the hallway that led to the Mad Science room and skidded to a halt when she saw it was empty, save for a lone werewolf that stood right in the middle of the hallway without moving. Robecca moved to the right, and the werewolf followed her. She moved to the left, and the werewolf did the same. "Okay, this isn't funny anymore." Robecca frowned, folding her arms over her chest. "Please move aside so that I may get to class." she ordered the werewolf, who merely grinned.

"Name's Crüjo, little lady," the Loboan said with a toothy grin. "And you're coming with me." He quickly lunged forward, reaching for her, but Robecca quickly moved aside. She ran up the side of the locker and perched on top, knowing that it wouldn't keep her safe. As Crüjo lunged again, she activated her rocket boots and jumped across the hallway to the other set of lockers. For the next minute, they played a sort of messed up game of 'Loboan in the Middle', but Crüjo was quickly tiring of the game; he had a job a to do, and he aimed to do it right and please his master. Just as Robecca was in mid jump, he shot upwards ad grabbed onto her boots, coughing from the steam as he dragged her to the ground and pinned her there. "Now where's that off switch?" he mumbled to himself, Robecca gasping and struggling even harder.

"Hey! Lemme tell ya somethin' Crüjo, lackey of the once powerful self-proclaimed High Ectolord Zs'Skayr of Anur Transyl! Lewodan Anvil Drop!" Rath roared as he jumped high into the air and came crashing down on Crüjo, making sure his elbow was skillfully out for maximum damage. Unfortunately, he also landed on Robecca, and the sound of metal twisting could be heard. Rath quickly got off of a dazed Crüjo and grabbed him by the feet, swinging him around in a circle and then throwing him out of the window at the end of the hallway, listening to his pained yell as he soared through the air and beyond the school's wall. A familiar beeping sound filled the air and Rath was enveloped in a green light, changing him back into Ben. He quickly ran back over to Robecca and winced when he saw the large dent in her back. "Sorry!" he apologized, helping Robecca to her feet. "Oh, no problem, Clawdeen. It was an eyeball!" said Robecca as she wobbled on her feet with dizzy eyes. Ben caught her before she fell to the floor and carried her into the Mad Science classroom, thankful that Mr. Hack was on his break. He quickly cleared the lab table up front and lay Robecca down on it.

"Robecca! How many fingers am I holding up?" Ben asked, waving three fingers in front of her eyes. Robecca blinked and silently counted Ben's fingers before answering. "Eleven." she told him. "Aw, man." he sighed. "Okay, um, Robecca? Do I have permission to try and fix you? It might get a little . . . . personal." he told her. Robecca turned bright red as a dirty thought entered her processor, and she nodded. Ben quickly accessed the Omnitrix and cycled through the listings before coming across the alien he needed. He slapped the activation button and let the green wash over him as the changes began.

The first noticeable change was his size. He quickly shrank down from his good six foot frame to something a little under five inches. His skin turned a gray color and became moist. He felt his feet each lose two toes and become webbed. He lost a single finger on each hand as his eyes bulged out of his head. The most dramatic change Ben felt as he was changed was when he felt his part split into two parts, one that seemed slightly smaller than the other half. He suddenly understood everything about the world and its inner workings. The Omnitrix appeared on the back of his jumpsuit, completing the transformation.

"Now, uh, try not to wiggle." Greymatter laughed nervously and slipped off her small vest. He gulped and reached for her shirt as another jet of steam escaped from Robecca's ears. He quickly got it over with and tore off her shirt, closing his eyes as far as shut as possible while still being able to see. He blindly felt around for a panel, turning red after hearing Robecca giggle lightly touching her metallic breasts. He quickly found the hatch he was looking for and pried it open, opening his eyes so he could have a better look.

"Ooh, boy. Thank goodness I have all the tools I need here." he said. He hopped down from the table and scurried across the floor and climbed up to the counter, grabbing a screwdriver bigger than he was and making his way back To Robecca, who was watching his every move. At that moment, Spectra came floating in through a wall. "Hey, Ben! I just-" she stopped cold when she saw the situation. Spectra grinned and turned red. "Ben, you dirty boy." she scolded lightly, wagging her finger back and forth. "Don't patronize me, Spectra." Greymatter sighed, hopping up onto the table. "I'm just trying to repair Robecca's main frame. If you could hand me tools, we can exponentially increase the time it will take to repair Robecca before class begins." Spectra nodded and swooped down to hover next to the table. For the next ten minutes, the two repaired Robecca, Ben switching between Heatblast and Greymatter to fix her, using the Pyronite to fashion and melt the gears back into their original shapes.

"Almost done." Greymatter said from somewhere within Robecca's body. A few seconds later, he crawled out of the hatch and closed it, turning around as Robecca quickly redressed herself, the room in a constant cloud of steam. A flash of green light joined the steam cloud and Ben returned back to reality. "Thanks, luv." Robecca said once the cloud had dissipated and they each took their seats, Spectra and Ben sitting next to each other and Robecca sitting the row in front of them. "No prob, Robecca. I even managed to fix your internal clock while I was at it!" said Ben. Before he could even react, Robecca pulled him into a hug and kissed him full on the lips without hesitation. "Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!" she cried happily. Ben's face was a new shade of red altogether, and Spectra's was in one of mild annoyance. "I can't thank you enough!" she cried happily, a thin trail of oil leaking from her optical ducts. Just then, the bell rang and students began streaming into the classroom every single one of them giving Ben an odd or angered look. Mr. Hack entered the room last, his beady eyes glaring at Ben. Ben whimpered and slid beneath his desk under the teacher's gaze before Spectra nudge him. Ben quickly recomposed himself and returned the glare, albeit poorly.

"Today class, ye will be making yer own creature," Mr. Hack began. "Ye'll each have to take one of the creatures in these changes and then fuse it with another!" Mr. hack cackled as he yanked back a curtain in the back of the room to reveal dozens of cages containing dozens of scared and whimpering creatures. There was a low thump from the back of the room and the entire class turned to see Jane Boolittle slumped onto the floor. "And ye can all thank our new student _Tennyson _for the inspiration!" Mr. Hack cackled at seeing Jane's reaction. Ben chuckled nervously as most of the class glared at him. The most threatening glare came directly to his left, from a tall, light blue skinned girl with long, white hair. She was decked out in a shiny dress that resembled ice and white furs and a large pair of furry boots. "Abbey does not like when _Tennyson _make friend faint." the yeti growled at him, saying his name like a curse. Mr. Hack saw the tension and grinned maniacally; he would do anything to get back Ben after humiliating him. What better way than to pair him up with one of the most temperamental students in his class.

"Pair up with the monster next ta yas, and grab a creature!" Mr. Hack commanded. Most of the students seemed either happy or indifferent about the new set of instructions, but Spectra, Ben, and Abbey were not among them. Spectra was unfortunately paired with Heath and Ben was stuck with Abbey, as they were the only four in the row. Ben chuckled nervously as Abbey glared at him and marched down the row of raised desks towards the cages. She returned with what appeared to be a small, baby elephant of sorts, no bigger than a small dog. "Why'd you pick that?" Ben asked.

"Remind Abbey of pet mammoth."

"Aren't those extinct?" Ben asked, confused.

"Not where Abbey is from." Abbey chuckled lightly. "Now, stop unnecessary chatter and let Abbey figure out solution." the yeti barked at him as she gently held the trembling elephant down. Ben glanced around and saw many other creatures suffering the same fate; Jane, sitting in the back of the class and gently petting a small tiger cub, refused to let her partner Hoodude get anywhere near the por animal. _There's gotta be a better way,_ Ben thought when he saw all the extremely sharp instruments and needles waiting for use. After getting their first creature and checking it over, most of the student body was heading back to the cages to grab a second animal to fuse with the first. Ben winced as Abbey got up from her seat to follow. And before he knew what he was doing, he grabbed her wrist.

"How dare you hand on Abbey." she growled quietly.

"Listen to me! I've got a better and much more _humane _way to do this!" he hissed, catching Jane's frightful stare out of the corner of his eye. Abbey cocked an eyebrow, but didn't move. Once he was sure she wouldn't move, he let go of his wrist and sucked in a breath. He had only done this one time, and wasn't even sure if it would work or. He wasn't even sure if he had the feature unlocked or not, but he to try. If not for the animals and his image, than for Jane. "Alright, Omnitrix. Um, activate Fusion Mode?" he guessed. After a few minutes, nothing happened.

"Five minutes class!" Mr. Hack cackled as he watched his students grab the cold metallic instruments. The animals all whimpered and cowered as the students prepared to work. Jane was holding her tiger tightly, hoping Ben would hurry up.

"Pft. Abbey knew Normie was fool." she grumbled until she heard a futuristic hum and turned to see the Omnitrix's normally black watch face glow green. "Please select the species you would like to fuse." the watch said in a motorized voice that resembled Ben's. Ben turned to Abbey and gave her a confident smile before returning to the watch. "Um, Artiguana?" he guessed. It normally wouldn't have been the first alien to pop into his head, but he was desperate to prove Abbey wrong, save Jane from having to perform the horrible experiment, and show Mr. Hack up in class once more. "Accessing Polar Manzardill DNA. Please push the button to begin." the watch asked, its face blinking green. Ben grinned and aimed his wrist at the quivering elephant. "Don't worry, lil' guy. This will be absolutely painless." he told the animal. Surprisingly the animal stopped shaking and scampered to the floor. Ben glanced back and saw Jane smiling. Ben nodded and slapped the watch face, a green beam of light shooting out from the Omnitrix and striking the little elephant, editing its DNA at the molecular scale.

When the flash of green light vanished, a pale blue elephant the size of a small car stood on the floor in front of Ben, experimenting with its trunk; it had a pair of fine icicles for tusks that curved around in front of it like a mammoth. It had a large, black shell on its back similar to Artiguana, with four large fins running down the back. Four blue claws curved out from the animal's toe nails. "Wow. That worked better than I thought." Ben said to himself as Abbey starred. The elephant, seeming to be happy with its sudden upgrade, blasted a jet of icy vapor from its trunk at Abbey, freezing her instantly. The yeti didn't seem to be affected however, and seemed to actually find it refreshing. "Hmm. Abbey was wrong." she said to herself as Ben threw her a cocky grin. "Told ya." he said when a nudge from his right caught his attention, turning to see Spectra pointing a finger at a small tortoise huddled deep within his shell. The fact that Heath was trying to put a comforting (and flaming) hand on his shell wasn't helping in the slightest. Ben nodded and turned back to the Omnitrix. "Heatblast, please." he asked. "Pyronite DNA recognized." the watch beeped. Ben slapped the watch face and another ray of green light hit the tortoise's shell. The flash of green light vanished, and the tortoise, now the size of a large dog, poked its head out of its shell.

The tortoise had a rock plated shell with lava between the cracks. It stood on four rock pillar legs with fiery claws on each end. It's hard, rock head was smoking, curls of wispy smoke rising from its head before it suddenly burst into flame. The animal jolted, and a jet of flame erupted out of its beaked mouth and flew past Ben's head, striking the wall behind him. Heath cheered and stroked the turtle's shell, finally happy to have a pet. For the next two minutes, Ben quickly crossed the DNA of all the animals in the room with DNA from the Omnitrix while Mr. Hack dozed off. By the time he was finished, there were a variety of hybrids, including a Tetramand/monkey, Petrosapien/bat, Citrakayah/tiger, Gimlinopithecus/cat, and Appoplexian/canary (which was currently and unsuccessfully trying to wrestle Ben's elephant to the ground). The bell quickly ran, jolting Mr. Hack and sending him out of his chair. "Alright, lets see hows ya did." Mr. hack grumbled, confident that no one, especially Ben, would have completed the assignment. Needless to say, he nearly fainted when he came across the small menagerie of hybrid animals that were playing around the lab.

"Fine. Everyone passes," Mr. hack grumbled. "Please bring your creatures to the front so that they may be put down." Everyone gasped upon hearing those words, and Mr. Hack's frown quickly turned into a broad, and cruel smile. Every animal was huddling up in the corner, shivering at the sight of Mr. Hack. And before anyone could do anything, there was sudden purple blur, and Mr. hack was down on the floor, with an infuriated Jane Boolittle throttling him! "Don't you dare hurt those poor creatures!" she yelled, the class watching with surprise and shock; out of all of them, the shy and usually hidden Jane Boolittle was the last person they expected to attack their sadistic teacher; Ben, Spectra, Heath, Abbey, even one of the nameless background students would have seemed more likely to attack their teacher over his threat. After a few short minutes, Ben and Abbey quickly pulled an infuriated Jane off of a dazed Mr. Hackington. Ben turned to the animals and quickly jerked his head towards the door. The animals all got the idea and quickly fled the classroom, startled yells and cries coming from the halls as the creatures fled the building.

Jane! Calm down!" Ben rasped as the students quickly left the classroom. Abbey, Robecca, and Spectra stayed behind, Robecca propping Mr. Hackington at his desk so that he would hopefully believe it to be a dream. "It's over!" Ben cried shaking the girl's shoulders. Jane was heaving deep breaths now, attempting to calm down. She eventually did after a few minutes. "I'm good." she breathed. "Thank you, Ben. I don't know what I would have done had you not been here." she added, turning a bright red and hugging him tightly. Ben returned the hug and grinned like an idiot as Spectra rolled her eyes; another girl she would have to share Ben with. And something told her it wouldn't be the end. Abbey scoffed and left the room, her cheeks turned a bright pink. Robecca thanked Ben again and left the room, putting a little more swag and movement in her stride for Ben, who's face turned a deep shade of red. Jane gave him a quick kiss and left the room to search for the run away animals.

"Jealous?" Ben asked Spectra.

"A little." Spectra said, hugging her boyfriend. "But I think I can share. Come on, we're late for Dead Languages, and I know a short cut." she added, taking Ben's hand and leading him down the hallway. "Let me guess: we're going to the catacombs?" Ben guessed. Spectra nodded and they stopped at the school's entrance, pushing the door open and walking their way down the staircase. "What exactly do you have in mind?" Ben asked as they rounded a corner and came into a large, round chamber. Several dragons, their heads poking out of openings in the walls, sat around the chamber, a sign and a large feather near them. Several zombies lurched around the room, and as Ben watched they seemed to be doing something. Ghoulia walked past them, giving them a wave and one of her smiles before walking up to a dragon with a calculator on its sign. She picked up the feather and used it to tickle the dragon's nostril. She quickly set the feather back into its holder and braced herself as the dragon suddenly sneezed and sent her rocketing across the room and down another tunnel. Several more sneezes followed as Spectra dragged Ben towards a dragon with a crudely drawn, and very poor, picture of Mr. Rotter on it. Spectra picked up the feather and quickly tickled the dragon's nose, tossing the feather aside and grabbing a hold of Ben's hand just before the dragon sneezed and sent them skyrocketing through a vent. Ben and Spectra whooped and screamed in fright and excitement as they flew down twists and turns and over a large cavern that held the notorious Kraken, which swatted at Ben and tried to eat him. They eventually came to a skidding halt next to a large vent outside of Mr. Rotter's room, with a couple minutes before the bell would ring.

"Hmm. Who knew there was a Zombie Super Highway underneath the school." said Ben, when he felt a tickling down by his leg. "Spectra, knock that off." he chided his ghoulfriend. "I'm not touching your leg, Ben." Spectra said, holding her arms up where he could see them. Ben slowly glanced down and nearly yelped with fright when he saw a small animal the size of a beagle curled around his leg, shivering slightly. The animal was a pale yellow and resembled a lizard with horns and a pair of large, bat -like wings. "Is that a dragon?" Ben asked Spectra, prying the poor creature off of his leg. Spectra nodded and Ben gave the situation some thought. "Are you lost little guy?" he asked.

The dragon nodded and hissed.

"In that case, use your little dragon senses or something and go find a girl named Jane Boolittle. She'll be able to help you out better than we could." he instructed the animal. The dragon nodded and flapped its wings, flying down the tunnel towards the Creature Cavern. Once they were sure the animal was on its way, Spectra and Ben made their way out of the vent and into class, just as the bell rang.

**And there we go. I'm sorry, but like a previous chapter, I started writing this, all excited and everything, and then I eventually got tired of it. I'm pretty sure some of you writers out there know what I'm talking about.**

**FYI, this is probably the closest this story will ever get to being a lemon. The scene at the beginning of the story was inspired by an idea from loyal reader, _Darkmagicdragon_. Thank you! If you have any ideas for this story, don't hesitate to post them in the reviews or PM me. And again, if an idea of yours doesn't make it into the story, write your own! I'm feeling a little surprised at how many members of FanFiction there are that don't have a single story to call their own, and this story has multiple.**

**A guest that goes by the name of _Fantasy Fan_ has requested that I do a Ben 10/Ever After High story, possibly as a sequel. I am highly considering it, but I want to hear what you think, if this is a good idea or not. And if I catch any of you stealing my idea, I will personally sick Rath, Humungousaur, Four Arms, Way Big, and Atomix on you (seriously, I officially had the idea for it and call rights. No stealing!).**

**I have gotten a lot of reviews and messages asking for Skurd, and I will announce now that he will appear next chapter! Lets just say he has been . . . . hibernating or something until then, okay?**

**Until next time, ghosts and ghouls!**


	12. Big Fat Monster Wedding

**And I'm back with another chapter! I swear, this would have come out faster had my computer not back acting like a total BEEP! Sorry about the foul language, but I literally had to rewrite this thing from memory, and I was so _close _to being finished!**

**Computer problems aside, I just want to say I appreciate every single one of you out there, those who have made this story one of the most popular I have ever written or come across on FanFiction. Go ahead, pat yourself on the back!**

**As always, please comment and review and send me your ideas! I have a basic plot set out, but I'd be more than happy to hear any suggestions for this story and the confirmed sequel. Again, if your idea doesn't make it, don't be afraid to write your own version of this story, but try to have some creativity with it. Seriously, no one likes a copy cat.**

**Enjoy!**

Ben cursed under his breath as he ran down the halls as fast as he could. He would have turned into XLR8 or Fasttrack, but Headmistress Bloodgood had put a ban on those transformations for safety/sanity reasons, as most teachers found it quite distracting when locker doors were torn from the walls from the sheer movement of those forms. That being said, Ben was late for gym, a subject he mostly did well in thanks to the Omnitrix. No matter what Coach Igor threw at him, he was able to accomplish it, much to the other student's annoyance.

He turned down another hallway and was about to run off at a mad speed when a hand grabbed him by his white hood and yanked him back, briefly choking him as he slammed him into the lockers. Ben saw stars for a few brief seconds before locking eyes, or shades, with Deuce Gorgon. Ben's face became frightened as he waited for Deuce to tear away his sunglasses and stone him, becoming a statue to be set outside for the gargoyles to perch on. Except nothing happened. He didn't feel his insides become hard, or hard rock crawl up his skin. Absolutely nothing happened.

"I need your help."

Those four words jerked Ben out of his state of terror to stare at Deuce with a confused look on his face. "Aren't you going to, you know, stone me?" he asked, a little startled. Deuce rolled his eyes (at least Ben thought he did. It was hard to see past those dark sunglasses). "Dude, as much as I would _love _to turn you into a statue, I need a favor. Two actually."

Ben cocked an eyebrow, but was listening. If it helped him get on someone's good side, he was more than ready to do it, as long as it didn't endanger someone else. "Alright, what is it?" he asked.

"Cleo's birthday is coming up in a week, and I have no idea what to get her. I figured since your a ladies man, you might know what to do," Deuce explained. "What do you get the girl who has everything?"

Ben blinked, not quite comprehending the words that met his ears. Since when was he so good with the girls? Sure, he was in a relationship with Spectra and Skelita and possibly Robecca, he wasn't normally this good. Back at home, he had his fair share of relationships, and those never turned out well. Julie, for a while, had been a steady girl to be with, but that quickly changed with Ben's ever growing popularity (not to mention an awkward phone call). Not many girls liked when thousands of fan girls wanted their boyfriend;s autograph 24/7, or when they had to bend and twist their schedule around just to spend time with them. Ester had been a little better, but thanks to Spanner's meddling, he didn't know where their relationship stood. Kai, no matter what Spanner had said, was everything Ben wasn't, which drove him crazy. Looma and Attea didn't even like him or him, just his different forms. In a word, Ben's love life had never been successful.

"You sure you got the right guy?" he asked. Deuce grinned, assuming it was a joke. "Dude, we aren't blind. Every guy in school hates you because they want to _be _you. They've seen how ghouls turn their heads when you walk down the hall with your ghoulfriends, wishing that could be them. I've seen inside their lockers; they've got photos of you, drawings, a few even have a shrine! Even the ghouls who are already in a relationship have a crush on you! Cleo even treats you with _actual respect_!" Ben nodding, knowing how hard the mummy usually was, though she had her moments.

"So, you need help figuring out a present for Cleo?" he asked, sliding down the lockers to sit on the floor, Deuce following him. "I don't know what to get her. She's rich and has everything she could possibly ever want." Deuce said. "She likes fashion, shiny things, and herself if that helps." he added. Ben nodded, an idea forming in his head. It would take a while, but if he had enough time, he would be able to finish it. "Alright. I need a picture of Cleo, a private work space, and a chisel. Can you get me those things?" he asked, Deuce nodding his head. "Now about that other favor . . ."

"What is it?" Ben sighed. The bell to signal class had begun had long since rung, but neither boy seemed to notice.

"Okay, so Cleo's cousin is getting married. She's a little paranoid, which is kind of understandable, being rich and all. Either way, she needs security, and lots of it. I can't be it, because I'm Cleo's date to the wedding," Deuce explained. "Draculaura told me what happened earlier this morning, and I'm thinking I'm talking to the best bouncer I've ever met."

"Wait, wait, wait. I can't just play bouncer for a wedding. I tried doing it another time and it-"

"It pays $100.00 an hour." Deuce interjected.

"Deal." Ben sighed. "But you owe me big time." Deuce nodded and gave him the date, throwing him a thumbs up before dashing off in the direction of the library. Ben got up from the floor and ran the rest of the way to gym, yanking the door open just in time to dodge a ball aimed right at his head, falling down on his butt. The class, apparently, was engaged in a game of dodge ball. Several nameless students lined the bleachers, having been knocked out of the game. Lining one side of the court was Draculaura, Ghoulia, Heath, and another boy that Ben had never met. On the other side, was Manny, Clawd, Jackson, Clawdeen, and another ghoul Ben hadn't seen. As he got up from the floor, Coach Igor scowled at him and jerked a thumb towards Draculaura's side, the vampire sighing with relief when Ben joined the game, slipping his sweatshirt off and tossing it towards the side. "Two transformations, Tennyson! That's all you get!" the deformed human called across the gym. Ben cursed under his breath; he would have to save his transformations.

Manny, grinning maliciously, scooped up a ball in his large hand and aimed right at Ben's head. Ben instinctively went for the Omnitrix. "I wouldn't if that if I were you!" a gentlemanly voice yelled. Ben paused, yelping and diving to the floor as the ball rocketed over his head and crashed into the wall behind him. Ben's eyes widened in remembrance when a small, snot-like goo bag oozed onto the Omnitrix, glaring at him with his tiny black eyes. Skurd folded his tentacles over what Ben could only assume to be his chest. "Well? Are you going to listen to me or not?" he asked, already knowing the answer. Ben, once again, ignored the Slimebiote and activated the Omnitrix, not caring what alien he was transformed into. Already, a few students on the bleachers had pulled out their iCoffins, ready to capture the epic battle to come. Ben slapped down on the activation button, letting the green light wash over him and change his DNA.

His skin turned a bright yellow and became hard and plated. His fingers and thumb melted together into sharp points, his arms and legs becoming jointed as he was forced to use his arms as extra legs. His lips protruded out from his face and turned sideways as they became cupped pincers. His eyes turned black with green slits as a bony protrusion grew from his brow, splitting in two and becoming forked as Ben shrunk down to the floor, to the size of a small dog. A green and white neck brace formed around his chest, the Omnitrix and Skurd appearing on his chest. "Ball Weevil!? Now?" he yelped, skittering to the side as a dodge ball bounced on the floor near him.

"I told you," Skurd scolded. "Do you ever listen? No, I don't think so. Not that you naturally think." he mumbled to himself.

"Less whining more helping!" Ball Weevil cried, running to the side. Skurd sighed, but stretched himself over Ben's body, forming his gooey self around the alien insect's antennae and morphing it into a pair of Florauna tendrils. Ball Weevil smiled and concentrated, the vines on his head growing thorns as they reached for the nearest red rubber dodge ball and chucked it across the middle line, only missing one of Manny's horns by an inch. The minotaur snorted in annoyance and grabbed the ball that had whizzed by head, chucking it back, aimed directly at Ball Weevil.

"Gah! Why am I always the target!?" he cried, running away like a vagabond.

"Maybe it has something to do with the fact that you started it?" Skurd commented. "Just a thought."

"Can it!" Ball Weevil shot back, skittering up the wall of the gym as dodge ball rained after him. He quickly ran across the wall and back down to the floor, grabbing a ball in each of his vine-like tendrils and chucking it across the other side, catching an unfortunate Jackson in the gut, sending the poor Normie to the floor. The monsters on the bleachers cheered as a sore Jackson crawled his way towards them, gasping for breath. The sudden attack seemed to fuel the other team like a gasoline to a flame. Without mercy, they each grabbed a ball and lobbed it at Ball Weevil, his team mates covering their heads from the barrage.

"If it's not to much trouble, could I get some help!?" Ball Weevil screamed at his team mates.

Ghoulia nodded and scooped a dodge ball up in her pale hands. She ran a quick calculation in her head before turning around and throwing the ball as hard as she could at the wall. The ball ricocheted off the wall and over Ghoulia's head as she ducked, sailing through the air and socking Clawd in the jaw with the force of a freight train. The werewolf fell down like a sack of potatoes as a shot from Draculaura bounced off his chest harmlessly. The vampire grabbed another dodge ball and aimed it at the strange ghoul Ball Weevil hadn't seen.

The new ghoul screamed and flapped her insect like wings, rocketing up towards the ceiling and out of harms way. "Sorry, Bonita!" Draculaura called, just as a ball socked her in the gut and sent her sprawling to the floor with a groan.

"Sorry, Lala!" Clawdeen yelled. Bonita, the skeleton-moth hybrid, swooped down from the ceiling and scooped up another ball and nervously tossed it at the other side of the gym, the ball harmlessly bouncing on the floor. Before the poor ghoul could even scream, Ball Weevil scooped it up in his tendrils and chucked it right across the gym, hitting the poor ghoul in the stomach and sending her to the ground with a sickening crunch. The entire gym winced, and Coach Igor blew his whistle, signaling a time out.

"Sorry!" Ball Weevil cried, just as the Omnitrix timed out and changed him back into Ben. He quickly ran across the gym, his sneakers squeaking loudly against the floor. He stooped over the frail girl and winced when he saw her crumbled, pink and black wings. "You okay?" he asked, reaching for her pale pink hand. Bonita winced, but accepted the help as she sat up and brushed her platinum hair out of her face. Her bright pink eyes widened as her set on Ben and her face turned a bright red. "I-I-I'm fine." she said nervously as the unknown boy from Ben's team walked over. He had gray, zombie-like skin and pointed horse ears under his long black hair streaked with bright pinks and blues. A single, pointed horn poked from the middle of his forehead as his bright colored horse's tail swished behind him. He wore a ribcage design shirt of primary colors and black pants with large, gold, spiked boots.

He touched the horn on his head, glowing pink and then quickly put his hands on Bonita's shoulders, the pink light washing over her. There was a series of short snapping sounds as Bonita's wings healed themselves. In a matter of seconds, her wings were completely healed and back in order. Bonita thanked the boy, Neighthan Rot, and flew over to the bleachers, her eyes never leaving Ben as she went over. Coach Igor blew his whistle again, and both Neighthan and Ben walked back over to their side of the gym.

Ben yelped and ducked as a ball rocketed over his head and crashed into the wall behind him, leaving a large dent. "C'mon, Omnitrix! Give me something good!" Ben begged.

"Oh, why do you even bother trying?" Skurd wondered. Ben ignored him and slapped the activation button, letting the green light wash over him and change his DNA. His skin began to crawl as it hardened smoothed into something similar to an exoskeleton, yet not at the same time. It turned black as it raced over his body, blue blotches with lighter centers appearing all over him. His fingers became sharper as they turned into claws, and he could feel his toes melt into toe as a third claw sprouted from his heel with a loud grinding sound. His teeth fused together into two plates that felt like they could bite through almost anything as his eyes widened and became larger, turning a bright green with three dots. Muscles piled themselves up on his chest and arms, but the most important and noticeable change however, was the itching sensation he got on his back and head. With a sudden, sickly sound, four large wings ripped out of his back, bigger than his entire body. Two large antennae burst out of his head. The wings and antennae flapped around for a few seconds before gently and silently wrapping around their owner like a cloak. The final piece of the transformation was a suddenly chilled feeling in his core, a feeling that ran through his veins and arteries that felt as cold as ice.

"Big Chill? Is this your doing, Snot Bag?" the Necrofriggian rasped at Skurd.

"So what if it is? That girl seems to like it." Skurd chided, pointing with a small tentacle towards Bonita. Big Chill turned to gaze at Bonita, whose face as red as a tomato. At least, he suspected so; it was hard to see when her hands were covering her embarrassed face, only a single pink eye being visible through her fingers.

"Dude! Stop checking out the ladies!" Heath yelled.

Big Chill nodded and picked up a ball in his claws, flapping his wings and taking to the air. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bonita grow even redder, the color spreading out to the rest of her body. He smirked and breathed an icy vapor onto the red rubber ball, coating it in ice crystals. He wound up his arm and chucked it across the gym, grazing Clawdeen's hair before crashing into the wall and shattering into a hundred pieces. The werewolf growled and heaved another ball at him, Big Chill quickly telling every cell in his body to become abstract. The ball sailed harmlessly through him and fell to the floor, Big Chill chuckling.

"You can't hit what you, um, can't hit." said Big Chill.

"Really? That's the best you can do?" Skurd asked. Big Chill didn't answer and swooped down low, scooping a ball in his hand and tossing it to Ghoulia. The zombie did another calculation in his head and lobbed it towards the other side where it bounced harmlessly across the floor before it got sucked into an open air vent came rocketing out another, bouncing all over the gym at high speeds. Neighthan ducked to the floor and Heath ran away when it bounced at his feet towards the ceiling. Big Chill folded his wings in front of him and deflected it to the other side where it struck Clawdeen in the head, sending her out of the game. The girl shot an angry glare at Big Chill and walked over to the bleachers.

"What did I do?" he wondered, yelping as Manny chucked a ball at his head. Heath was quickly struck out (having to be carried off the court). Neighthan lasted a little longer, getting struck out when he stumbled over his own two feet and fell to the floor, getting hit with a ball on the head and popping it when it landed on his horn. Soon, it was just Ghoulia and Big Chill left, and from the look Manny was giving him, the Necrofriggian knew he was next. "Um, Skurd? Got anything useful up your sleeve?" he asked the Slimebiote.

"You do realize I don't have sleeves, right?"

"Stop being snarky!"

Skurd sighed and stretched himself over Big Chill's arm, changing the structure into a Segmentasapien gun, of which he dubbed the Bloxx Lobber. "Yes! Except, I can't use blocks. Nice." he sighed.

"Are you really that ignorant?" asked Skurd.

Big Chill didn't answer and instead jerked to the side as a dodge ball whizzed by his head. Manny growled, and his eyes traced over to Ghoulia. The only way to knock the over sized bug out of the sky was to get rid of his lackey. He picked up a red rubber ball and squeezed it between his large fingers. Sweat poured down his forehead as he prepared to send the zombie girl into a world of pain. He swung his arm forward, aiming directly for her chest where he couldn't possibly miss. Time seemed to slow down as the ball rocketed through the air, aimed right at the distracted Ghoulia. Big Chill blinked and flapped his wings as fast as he could to get to Ghoulia, to somehow save her from Manny's wrath. Not that he assumed that Ghoulia was completely defenseless. From what he had heard, she was the smartest student in school, smarter than even most of the teachers. The girl had a brain and she wasn't afraid to use it.

Time spend up as he dove in front of Ghoulia and spread his wings to cover her. He jabbed his gun out to deflect the ball, only to have it sock right into the barrel of his weapon. Big Chill grinned as Ghoulia peeked out from behind his wing span, smiling one of her grins as Manny looked fearful. Faster than the minotaur could move, Big Chill aimed the Bloxx Lobber and shot the dodge ball out, striking Manny square in the back and sending him to the floor. Coach Igor blew his whistle, ending the game, just as the Omnitrix timed out and changed the Necrofriggian back to Ben.

"Now that was a _ball_," Ben joked as Ghoulia moaned and face palmed herself.

"Really?" Skurd sighed.

* * *

"I hate you," Charmcaster growled. As to whom she was hating, was a crudely drawn picture of Ben Tennyson that she had managed to draw before the officers put the straight jacket on her. Forced to forever stare at that cocky grin of his, Charmcaster sat in her cell, waiting. It was all she could, given that her hands were useless and she was most likely to rot in there for years.

"Just like the bag." she grumbled under her breath, remembering how Ben had managed to trick her to get sucked into her own bag. After months of rotting away in there, she had managed to find a way out, only to find herself rotting in another prison, without a hope of escape. She would sit there for years, locked away from the outside world, no one caring about whether she would make it out or not.

"Yo, Crazy Lady! Yer outta here." a guard grumbled, clanging his baton against the bars of her cell. Charmcaster blinked and struggled to her feet, her arms still pinned behind her back as she ran over to the front of her cell. "Somebody decided to be nice and pay ya bail." the cop grumbled as he stabbed the key into the lock and opened the door to the cell, using another key to unlock Charmcaster's straight jacket. She rubbed her sore hands as the guard led her down a long hallway lined with other cells, containing much more . . . problematic prisoners than her. The other inmates scowled and yelled at her as she walked by them with a winning smile on her lips. A particularly nasty inmate, a large sea monster dredged in seaweed and barnacles, hit the bars of his cell with so much force that they nearly bent and twisted to his will. Charmcaster quickly slipped by him before he could reach through and tear her tiny head from her body with one of his giant, webbed hands.

Eventually, they came to a locked door, which the bored guard (ironically a Normie in a Monster prison) unlocked with yet another key on his key ring. They stepped through to the other side of the door, the guard pulling the door closed behind them and the roar of the inmates suddenly seizing to exist. In the room they were currently in was a large desk with a secretary of sorts at the front. The walls were drab and gray and had a row of metal chairs lining the wall. Bars were put over the windows after wire mesh and electrified wire. Despite all this extra security and loss of hope, one man seemed to actually enjoy it. That man was sitting in one of the chairs, reading a newspaper until Charmcaster was brought in. The man looked up and closed the newspaper, smiling at Charmcaster before he began to fill out some forms. Charmcaster watched the man carefully.

She had never seen him before in her life, and she didn't know whether to trust him or not. What she did know was that he bad. Very bad. But he was very good at acting. She saw behind those kind and heroic eyes a monster. And not the kind of monster she had seen in the past few days. This kind of monster was in the figurative term, a blood thirsty monster out for power. And she liked it.

"The name's Van Hellscream by the way," the man suddenly said to her. She looked him over, and was thoroughly surprised at what she saw. He was very well muscled and had long locks of gold colored hair amongst his beard. He had sharp, confident blue eyes, and wore a brown trench coat over a white shirt with a fancy tie. "And I understand you were falsely accused of hurting a monster, correct?" he asked.

"Yeah, so?" she wondered.

"The point my dear, is that the monster you _attacked_, should have been in that cell, not you." Van Hellscream explained as they walked out the doors of the small town prison and down the sidewalk. The building looked much more frightening on the outside, especially considering it barbed wire over its electrified chain link fence and then a moat filled with piranha surrounding that, though she figured most of those safety measures wouldn't harm half of the monsters in there. "Monsters, by nature, are blood thirsty. The only reason they haven't turned on the entire human race is because they are too busy fighting amongst themselves. Most of the time," he added. "And I think you know why."

"Ben Tennyson?" Charmcaster guessed.

Van Hellscream blinked. This was not the answer he was expecting. And the way she said it made him more curious. "No, it's Monster High. I'm sure you are familiar with the place?"

Charmcaster nodded. "Good. Monster High's ultimate goal is to unite every monster species in existence into one big army before turning against the human race. My goal is to keep the monsters busy so that they leave the humans alone," he told her. "But please, tell me. Who is this Ben Tennyson?" he asked. Charmcaster grinned; the man was fruitlessly trying to turn her over to his side so she could do some sort of dirty work for him. And she was more than happy to do it, and she would probably gain an ally in doing so too. The pair then came to a fancy red sports car, Van Hellscream taking the wheel and Charmcaster sitting the passenger seat as they drove along, Charmcaster telling Hellscream just who Ben Tennyson was. And the more she told him, the angry he got.

"Hmm. Interesting. After the job, we'll have to go after him next," he mumbled to himself.

"What job? If you're hiring, I'd be more than happy to help." said Charmcaster. "Especially if it means you'll help me get rid of Tennyson."

Van Hellscream nodded; he had picked the perfect person for the job. He just needed to hire a little more muscle if it was going to work out. "There is a wedding in two days time," he began. "Between a pair of mummies. As mummies have no naturally enemies, we need to make it look like members of the vampire and werewolf species kid napped each spouse. While the werewolves blame the vampires and the vampires blame the werewolves, each desperately searching for the others hostage, we will take the happy couple up to Howling Moon point and throw them into the lake below, where they will never be found again. Thus, the tension between vampires and werewolves grows, and the human race is safe once more. All I need you to do is dress up like a vampire and kidnap the groom while some other hired hands of mine dress as werewolves and kid nap the bride. Any questions?"

Charmcaster shook her head. She liked the way the man thought.

* * *

"This job of yours had better be worth it," Spectra grumbled, crossing her arms as she floated on one side of the gateway.

"Have I evers steered ya wrong?" Bullfrag croaked.

Spectra smirked and was about to answer when Deuce, dressed in a black tuxedo and sunglasses, and Cleo, dressed in a fetching blue ballgown, walked up to them, arm in arm. "Holds up! Name?" the Incursean asked, pulling out a clipboard from his pocket and looking it over.

"C'mon, Ben! You know its us!" said Deuce.

Bullfrag grinned. "Yeah, I know. I just gotta make sure, ya know?"

Deuce nodded and pulled Cleo through the gate, the Queen Bee throwing Bullfrag a warning glare as she walked past. Bullfrag sighed and rolled his eyes. "I just hope this works," he grumbled. For ages he had been trying to get on Cleo's good side, but to no avail. The mummy just wasn't listening. He sighed and pushed the thought out of his mind. For next hour he managed the gates, checking off couples on the list. A few of them, such as Clawd and Draculaura, he knew from school, which made things a little easier for him. After a half hour, he checked off the final guest on the check list. "Shall we?" he asked, taking Spectra's arm. The ghost smiled and put on a pair of dark sunglasses to match her own, straightening her single black dress and then taking his arm as they walked down the short walkway to the outdoor wedding. As security, both of them would be positioned on either side of the entrance/exit, making sure no one made it.

On one side of the alter was a tall mummy wrapped in the finest golden bandages. He wore a Horus headdress (whether this was his real head or not was up to debate) with gold and indigo colored feathers amongst a polished beak of pure gold. He wore a black tuxedo with an African Lily corsage and held a pharaoh's staff in one hand as the music cued up. Bullfrag and Spectra quickly stepped on either side of the door and stood ridged and straight as the bride came walking down the alter. She wore bandages like her spouse and had her brown and golden colored hair pulled back into a ponytail. She had a blue rhinestone under her beautiful eyes and wore a bright blue wedding dress as a dozen golden colored scarab beetles held up her train.

"You see anything?" Bullfrag whispered to Spectra. She blinked and looked around the wedding, looking past the rows of guests and strands of glowing lanterns strung over head. Off to the side was a concession table with a large, pyramid shaped wedding cake, punch bowl, and Egyptian finger foods. Nothing looked suspicious as the bride made it up to the alter and waited as the priest began speaking. "Bet you five dollars someone in the audience will fall asleep." Bullfrag murmured to Spectra. She about to answer when she heard a soft, low snore from the back row of guests and turned to see Clawd dozing off and Draculaura looking peeved.

"Uh, no thanks."

Bullfrag rolled his eyes and continued to look out over the audience. Besides Deuce, Cleo, Draculaura, and a now sleeping Clawd, he recognized a few many faces from Monster High, including . . . her. She a thing of beauty, too gorgeous for words. Her black and white hair hung back over her shoulders. Her pale green skin shone in the moonlight, her mismatched eyes looking stunning. She wore a black dress with blue, vertical stripes down the skirt. A pair of blue heels sat on her feet as she watched the ceremony, dateless and still apparently heartbroken. She was barely paying attention to the ceremony. "Cover me," Bullfrag whispered to Spectra. "I've some quick business to take care of." Before Spectra could stop him, he ran out of the wedding and ducked behind a tree, slapping the Omnitrix on his suit. Th green light washed over him, briefly changing him back to his human self before beginning the second transformation. He felt the skin around his skull slowly vanish, as if some flesh eating parasite were eating at it. His skull slowly turned upside down as the bones ground and shifted with a sickening sound. The teeth became sharper as new, thicker skin covered his face and his eyes molded into one. His fingers turned into dagger like claws that felt like they could slice through someone's soul. His legs wrapped around each other into a sort of ghostly tail as thick, green chains formed around his neck and wrists. The Omnitrix appeared on his chest, the chains all meeting together at the same spot as a dozen writhing tentacles suddenly spilled forth from Ben's insides. The transformation was complete.

"Ghostfreak!" he called out.

"Why must you still call them out?" Skurd asked from the Omnitrix.

"I've been asking myself that same question, but never got around to finding a reason. Force of habit, I guess," Ghostfreak rasped. "Now, if you could please just be quiet . . ." Skurd sighed and oozed off to some part of the Ectonurite's body. Ghostfreak then proceeded to phase through the ground, following the wonderful scent of warm bodies from beneath the wedding. He soon found Frankie out of the dozens of guests and, finding no one sitting next to her, moved upwards to her right. "You enjoying yourself?" he whispered. Frankie jumped and nearly screamed before she realized who it was. "Oh. It's you," she said, feeling quite depressed. "Fine, I guess. How are you and Spectra?"

Ghostfreak sighed, sitting on the chair next to her instead of hovering over it. "Good. You, you know, okay and stuff?" he asked.

Frankie sighed. "Not really, no. I'm surprised your even talking to me again, after the way I treated you."

"Nah, I had it coming," Ghostfreak admitted.

"You can say that again," Skurd whispered.

"Shut it, Snot Bag!" Ghostfreak rasped. Frankie gasped and looked hurt at the harsh words. "No, no! I'm not talking about you! I'm talking about Skurd, this green parasite that won't leave me alone!" Ghostfreak quickly explained, holding up a hand to show Frankie, sighing with relief when Skurd turned out to be on it. Frankie seemed to calm down a little, and returned her attention back to the ceremony.

"I don't suppose you'll ever forgive me?" Ghostfreak sighed after shooing Skurd away for a bit.

"I don't know, Ben. After what happened, I'm not sure if I should even be talking to you." Frankie answered, closing her eyes and letting a single tear fall from her face. "Can you just . . . ?"

Ghostfreak nodded and let his body sink through the chair and into the ground, keeping his head up for a few seconds to deliver a last message. "If you want to talk, just let me know." he said, fully sinking into the ground and moving back to Spectra. Frankie sighed and undid the stitching on her head, a habit she did whenever she was thinking. Should she forgive Ben? He was incredibly sorry, and had tried to apologize professedly. He truly never did mean to hurt her, but she just didn't know. She just didn't know if she could take another heart break. Out of all the ghouls in her little gang of friends, only she had ever experienced a multiple heartbreak. Draculaura and Cleo's relationships were strong and steady, and Lagoona could even fit into that category when Gil's parents weren't involved. Clawdeen never really got all that interested in boys, preferring to let her ghoulfriends have all the fun. Abbey hadn't exactly found a boyfriend, but with the way she was with Heath around, that could soon change. Only Frankie had ever had multiple boyfriends stripped of her; Jackson/Holt, Andy, even Neighthan to an extent, even though they technically never dated. She just didn't know if she was ready to dive back into a relationship again.

Her thoughts were broken when there came in all mighty scream from the front of the party, and Frankie looked up to see a pair of burly werewolves standing on either side of the bride, reaching for her as her spouse struggled against the grip of a vampire. The guests were in an uproar, screaming and running about, most too scared to do anything. Deuce attempted to take off his glasses and freeze the goons where they stood, but with so many people running about, the risk of hitting someone innocent was too high. Ghostfreak quickly slapped the Omnitrix symbol between his chains and let the changes begin as he was briefly changed back into his human self.

The first change was incredibly major. Ben could feel himself being literally cut into strips through some unseen force, as if being cut by a giant pair of invisible scissors. He could feel his bones and organs disappear altogether, and for a brief moment Ben wondered if he was going to die within seconds. Except he didn't. He could feel each strip of body vibrate with health, as if each were alive in its own way. Like magic, they twisted themselves make together into a crude, muscled figure with exaggerated fingers and toes made of thin strips. He could feel his face harden and become flat, turning pointed and green and black in color. The face plate sat itself on top of the bandaged shoulders as a green and black headdress appeared on his head, a wide collar appearing on his neck as two tendrils sprouted from his back. Black and green braces appeared on his arms and ankles, a green belt with the Omnitrix on it appeared around his thin waist, finishing the transformation.

"Come on, Snare-oh! Don't fail me now!" he cried as he thrust his hands forward and stretched his fingers out. The elongated fingers wrapped themselves around on of the werwolve's shoulders and yanked him back, pulling him through rows of chairs before he was flung skyward. Snare-oh drew back his fist and socked the monster in the jaw, sending him to the ground where he stayed. The second werewolf growled and lunged at Snare-oh, catching the Thep Khufan off guard before he was hit over the head with a glowing lantern, his fur catching fire. "How dare you ruin my cousin's wedding!?" Cleo seethed, breathing hard as her mascara began to run. Snare-oh backed up as Cleo grabbed a metal chair and hit the werwolf over the head with it, keeping him down. Snare-oh then decided to stay away from Cleo for the rest of the night and focused on making sure the happy couple to be was safe. He quickly scoured the grounds and found the groom and bride furiously trying to beat back the single vampire that had shown up. The attacker had pale white skin and blood red nails and lips, hissing as she riased her hand and let a pink orb form in it.

Snare-oh gasped; he recognized that pink magic anywhere. With hesitation, he pushed through the throng of panicked people and tackled the vampire to the ground, wiping his hand across her face as they wrestled on the ground. The vampire hissed and slashed at him with nails, slicing off Snare-oh's fingers. The quickly grew back as Snare-oh drew back his fist and and jabbed it downward, Charmcaster's head jerking to the side and out of harm's way. "You'll regret you ever met me, Tennyson!" he hissed, thrusting a hand at him and unleashing a wave of pink mana at him and sending him off of her. "Too late for that!" he moaned from the ground.

"This is payback for every single thing you and your bratty cousin ever did to me!" she screamed, reaching into her pouch and pulling out a pink powder.

"Everything!?" Snare-oh whimpered as Charmcaster blew on the pile of pink ash and let the cloud wash over her, making her bright pink eyes that only thing visible as she chanted a spell that he couldn't quite make out. He quickly realized what was happening as the pink cloud vanished and a large, dark pink dragon appeared where Charmcaster had once been. The dragon roared and unleashed a jet of flames across the grounds, causing the crowd to panic even more.

"Ben! Do something!" Spectra urged, appearing next to him. "I'll try to draw her attention!" With that, she flew upwards towards the dragon's head, whizzing and swooping around the dragon's jaws, taunting it and making rude gestures as the dragon focused on her. Snare-oh took the chance and got from the ground rushing towards the front legs of the dragon and unleashing his bandages on them, tying them together without Charmcaster knowing. "Hey, Ugly!" Snare-oh taunted. Charmcaster growled and breathed another jet of flame at him, the Thep Khufan jumping just out of the way before his bandages could catch fire. Charmcaster growled and stepped forward, only to fall flat on her face and stay there, struggling to get to her feet. As she did, she twisted her neck around, her jaws wide open with fire streaming freely. Snare-oh gasped and stretched his bandages out to their maximum length, curling around the waist of a distracted Cleo and yanking her out of harm's way as the searing hot flames burnt the ground she was previously standing on to ash. The dragon fruitless flapped its large wings, the gusts of wind picking up chairs and lanterns and unfortunate guests who weren't lucky enough to have escaped already.

"Clawd! Help!" Draculaura screamed as her grip on a strand of lanterns loosened and yanked her into the air. With Cleo holding onto him tightly and his bandage toes thrust into the ground as deep as they were go, he shot out his fingers again, grabbing Draculaura in them and pulling her back to her, hugging her frail body tightly against his own. He saw Clawd out of the corner of his eye and expected to see extreme annoyance and jealousy on his face. Instead, he saw relief and satisfaction in his eyes. Maybe he was starting to make amends? He didn't have time to think about that as he pushed Cleo and Draculaura out of the way of another jet of flames, telling them to get to safety while he handled Charmcaster. Snare-oh sudden heard a cry of pain and turned to see Frankie flat on the ground, Charmcaster's tail poised right above and ready to crush her. Snare-oh didn't exactly know what happened next, but those who saw him knew not to get on his bad side.

Barely thinking, he stretched out his fingers and wrapped them around Frankie's wrists and pulling her out just in time as the tail came crashing down. He dragged her through the dirt, twisting and turning to avoid the jet of flames that followed closely behind. Frankie was screaming in fright as they fire got closer and closer when she was suddenly thrown right up into the air. She looked down t see Snare-oh's right arm suddenly become red and metal plated, four gray digits forming on them as a jet of water blasted the dragon in the face. Then she came falling back down, screaming before she landed safely in Snare-oh's arms. "You okay?" he asked.

"If being dragged through the mud to avoid getting burnt to a crisp by a fire-breathing dragon is okay, then yes, I'm absolutely fine." Frankie joked. Snare-oh's bandages curved upwards at the joke but quickly turned down when the dragon with fury. "I will get you Tennyson! And your little ghouls too!" The Thep Khufan quickly set Frankie down, blasting another jet of water from his odd appendage. "Run! Get out of here!" he yelled, Franke dashing away as the dragon continued to struggle with its bonds.

"Gigi! Wherever you are, I desperately need you!" Snare-oh yelled to the heavens as he stretched the tendrils around the dragon's jaws, keeping them shut so that Charmcaster couldn't unleash her deadly flame. There was a sudden burst of light from Snare-oh's right and he turned to see Gigi standing there, a calm look on her face before she quickly saw the situation. "Need some help?" she asked.

"If you wouldn't mind, dear lady." commented Skurd. Snare-oh shot him a glare, but let it slide when he saw Gigi nod her head, her cheeks turning a bright red.

"I wish Charmcaster was human again!" Snare-oh cried as Charmcaster broke free of her bonds and raised a clawed foot and opened her jaws to unleash another wave of fire. Gigi crossed her arms, closed her eyes and jerked head forward. Charmcaster screamed as the spell began to undo itself, reversing the curse and changing her back into her human form. Before she could move, Snare-oh stretched out his bandages one last time, wrapping them around Charmcaster's body and cocooning her like a spider's lunch, pinning her arms to her sides where they could do no harm.

"Everyone okay?" Snare-oh asked the remaining guests. One by one he heard cries of safety, relieved to here those of Clawd, Deuce, Draculaura, and Frankie. A sudden, earth shattering scream filled the air as both Cleo and Isis, the bride, screamed in unison. As one, they stalked up to Charmcaster, murder in their undead eyes.

"How dare you ruin my wedding!?" Isis screamed.

"How dare you ruin my new dress!" Cleo shouted. Snare-oh, the groom, and every boy guest still remaining covered their ears as the girls all winced as both mummies chewed out Charmcaster.

"It's no wonder you don't have any friends! You never had any to begin with because you're so heartless!" Cleo yelled. "You're just like my sister Nefera; cold, heartless, soulless, spineless! I'm surprised she even made it to the under world! But why am I complaining about Nefera to you? Oh, wait. I know why. BECAUSE YOU'RE EXACTLY LIKE HER! Without your stupid spells and your fancy hand tricks, you're nothing! Look at you, bound and tied up like a sacrifice, completely helpless to do anything!" Cleo shouted as Isis slapped Charmcaster across the cheek. Hard. One could see the pulsing red hand mark on her face a mile away.

Every guest's mouth was dropped wide opened, a gaping hole in Snare-oh's neck region where his mouth might be if he had a visible one. Charmcaster was equally shocked and surprised. No one, not even her most hated enemies, had ever said such things to her. No one had ever had the courage or heart to tell her she a loser. Period. Charmcaster suddenly began to rethink her whole life in the next few seconds; her insane drive for power, only to be defeated over and over again by someone with a fancy watch and a girl who was only beginning to learn magic. Why was she so desperate to become so powerful? Why did she want to see Gwen and Ben's corpses burn before her eyes at her hands?

Because she was pathetic.

She was so desperate for power, so desperate to prove that she was better than those who could care less, that she kept tripping over herself. She had been so blind and so foolish to believe that Ben, a regular human kid with a fancy watch, could just suddenly learn magic! Why did she think that was even possible? Why did she care so much? Because she was pathetic. Ever since her father had perished, and the memories of her mother wiped, she had become a hollow, crazy shell of her former self. Whatever happened to that Charmcaster that nearly became friends with Gwen, that Charmcaster that actually admitted in front of everyone that she didn't want Gwen dead, just "badly hurt". Whatever happened to that Hope? That Hope was gone, crushed into ashes and blown away into oblivion by the needy and power hungry monster that lived in her. And she suddenly knew everything.

Because she was absolutely _pathetic_.

Tears suddenly began to stream from closed eyes as she bowed her head in shame. She had been so blind, so hungry to prove she was better than everyone, that she had gone so far as to ruin the lives of those around her, of those students who didn't even know, of those monsters who were just trying make a living in a Normie world so their kids could have a brighter future, of the innocent couple whose wedding she had no heartlessly ruined to pay off a debt she didn't even deserve. "I'm sorry." she croaked, her voice strained from her guilt and tears.

"Excuse me?" Snare-oh blanked as the Omnitrix timed out and returned Ben to his human form. "What did you just say?"

"I said, I'm sorry," Charmcaster rasped. "I'm sorry I was so jealous to you and your cousin. I'm sorry I got so mad with power that I hurt those who didn't deserve it." she said, everyone listening with nearly deaf ears. "Go ahead and kill me. Just kill me and put me out of my misery. I don't deserve to live." she cried, falling to the ground and on her face where she continued to sob uncontrollably. Ben blinked. Should he trust her? Was this just a bluff, a trick to get him to untie her so that she could kill him? Ben sighed and turned to Gigi.

"I need one more small favor," he pleaded. "I need to know whether she's telling the truth or not." he asked the genie. He knew it was asking a lot, having already spent two wishes on him. Gigi slowly nodded. "You owe me one though." she said. Ben agreed, and made his wish. "I wish I knew if Charmcaster was telling the truth." he said. Gigi crossed her arms, closed her eyes, and bobbed her head, and Ben suddenly jerked as information poured into his mind like a dam had suddenly burst. He could see into Charmcaster's body and mind. He sensed her sorrow and pain. He didn't sense any trickery, not a single shred of deceit or evil in her voice or tears. She truly was sorry, and felt that she deserved to die because she had nothing left to live for, not a single goal or purpose left for her to accomplished. And then it all stopped and he was back in the real world.

Spectra appeared next to him, cocking an eyebrow. "Should I?" he asked.

"Make the right choice, Ben. I don't know what you saw, but just make the right choice. Whatever it may be." she added, pecking him on the cheek. "I gotta go. See you back at home." she said, flying off into the night. Ben watched her go until he couldn't distinguish her from the stars and turned his attention back to Charmcaster. "I'm not going to kill you." he said, stooping down to her level. The sorceress sniffed and looked up at him. "Why?" she asked.

"Because I don't kill people. I'm not a bad guy, and you're not a bad gal. Just someone who took a wrong turn at Albuquerque, if you know what I mean." Ben explained. Charmcaster smiled weekly and Ben helped her up, letting her lean against him as she was unable to use her arms for balance.

"So, do I get another chance?" she asked.

Ben nodded. "But, you're staying in those bonds for the rest of the night, comprendo?"

Charmcaster nodded. It was the least amount of punishment she deserved. And from the look in Ben's eye, she knew she had a long road of rehabilitation ahead of her. She turned her attention to Gigi, who seemed to be incredibly uncomfortable around, hiding behind a turned over chair when she looked at her. "Um, Gigi, is it?" Charmcaster asked. "I'm, uh, s-sorry I tried to . . . you know, absorb you." she stammered, her lips almost refusing to say the 'S' word. Gigi came out from behind the chair, wary, but calm. "And as my first act of being good, may I request a wish?" she asked. Ben turned to Gigi and nodded, letting her know she was okay. Gigi smiled weakly, signaling she was ready.

"I wish Isis and her husband-to-be were married and on their honey moon." Charmcaster wished. Gigi's smiled broadened, happy to grant the wish. She closed her eyes, crossed her arms, jerked her head, and the unhappy mummies disappeared in a flash of light, gone. "Where'd you send them?" Ben asked Gigi as he and the remaining guests left the trashed wedding. Charmcaster waddled along side Ben, unable to move her legs any faster. The genie smiled. "Just on a 5 star cruise in the Scare-ibbean." she smiled. "And you still owe me."

"Do I get to know what I owe you?"

"I'll let you wait and see." Gigi smiled, vanishing in a poof of pink smoke. Ben moaned and pushed Charmcaster in the direction of Spectra's house. Things were looking both up and down.

* * *

Crüjo bowed as low as he possibly could, shoving his snout into the dirt as he cowered before his master, Zs-Skayr. "You have failed me again, Crüjo." the Ectonurite growled, putting the blade of his scythe to the Loboan's throat. Crüjo gulped, his Adam's Apple barely sliding past the blade. "I beg of you master, give me another chance" he whined, his tail curled between his legs and his ears flat against his head. Zs'Skayr sighed; they were behind schedule, and still missing parts. Despite Kuphulu managing to steal some important parts from a hidden lab deep in Monster High's catacombs, Dr. Viktor still required a few more pieces in order for his device to work. And the steam powered robot girl would have finished the job almost entirely, save for a few spare parts that were easy to find.

"Fine, Crüjo. I will give you _one _last chance. But you're taking Kuphulu with you next time. I want _progress_." he hissed as he turned invisible and flew off to his make shift quarters. The Loboan sighed with relief; he was going to live another night.

**And there's the next chapter! I hope you're all happy for those of you requesting Snare-oh make an appearance! And notice how** **I managed to squeeze in both Van Hellscream and Charmcaster's Dragon form? I am a genius!**

**But enough about me. Lets talk about some of you, dear readers. I'd like to send out a special thank you to **_**Menatron the Angel of Ideas **_**for turning Charmcaster good. Seriously dude/dudette, I can not thank you enough for always being there for this story, giving me fang-tastic ideas to work in. I thank you from the bottom of my undead heart.**

**Another shout out to **_**Darkmagicdragon**_** for helping me come up with ideas for the big wedding crasher scene. I'll admit, I was going to go for the jealous boyfriend scheme, but I decided I needed to change Charmcaster's heart, and decided to combine both. Go ahead, give yourself a pat on the back.**

**As always ghosts and ghouls, comment and review below and don't be afraid to send me your ideas or requests, because I will soon be ignoring those: things are about to get interesting and crazy at the same time. So crazy in fact, it would take an Omnitrix wearing hero and a gang of girly ghouls to fix everything ! ;)**

**Hasta Luego!**


	13. Nefera in your Wildest Dreams

**Guess what? I'm back and _deader _than ever! Ah, Monster High puns.**

**Anyways, what follows is a chapter written by me, of course. But I'm not the only person you should thank. Ever since Ben's Halloween Fiasco, this reader has been at my side (not literally of course) practically handing me ideas and suggestions on a silver platter, all of which make this story a 100% better. This person, even if they did hop on the band wagon (I hope I used that term right) at the very beginning, has been such an inspiration to me and this story, they deserve recognition.**

**I demand every one of you out there get out of your chairs and get down on the floor to bow before the screen as we all thank the mighty _DJ Rodriguez_! Bow! Bow! Bow before their wonderful might (a little overboard, huh?)!**

**Now that everyone is done bowing and groveling, we can get on with the story! As always, review and comment and below, and don't be afraid to send me your ideas for this story! And for those of you who are bored out of their skulls, don't worry! Things will pick up soon, I guarantee it!**

"Morning, Charmcaster. Sleep well?" Ben asked the sorceress.

"As well as anyone can wrapped up in a mummy's bandages." Charmcaster smiled as she rubbed her numb arms and hands. She then proceeded to stretch herself as far as she could to get the kinks out of her spine as Ben went about the newly cleaned kitchen making breakfast. After his first couple of nights of staying with Spectra, it became abundantly clear that he wouldn't be finding a new home anytime soon, which was just fine with Spectra; it made their relationship all the more cozier. And as such, Ben had taken some time to clean up parts of the house that he frequented, namely the kitchen, bathroom, and living room where he slept. The rest of the house he left alone, as Spectra found it seemingly relaxing. Said ghost came floating down from the ceiling, rubbing her eyes before pecking Ben on the cheek as he poured three glasses of orange juice; he had managed to scrap together enough money from his job at the Coffin Bean to buy groceries for him and Charmcaster and Spectra when the thought suited her.

"Ugh. I swear, you two are worse than me and Dark Star were." Charmcaster chided, turning away as Ben returned the kiss. She still wasn't entirely over her short relationship with Dark Star, taking every chance she could to get back at him for what he had done. She cleared the thought out of her head and grabbed one of the orange juice glasses in her hand, sipping the juice and licking her lips. "To my first day as a good guy," she said, raising her glass. Ben and Spectra took their own glasses and clicked them against hers, downing the rest of the juice in one gulp.

"So, Charmcaster? What do you plan to do today?" Ben asked her, leaning against the counter. The sorceress shrugged her shoulders and tossed her glass into the sink. "I don't know yet. Probably do some chores around the house and stuff. I've been thinking about enrolling in Monster High," she told them, causing Ben to do a waterless spit take. "I never did finish high school." she quickly explained.

"You could try," Ben told her. "Headmistress Bloodgood would be more than happy to get you enrolled, but . . . . you know . . ." Charmcaster nodded sadly. She knew the main reason there was a good chance she wouldn't get enrolled in Monster High. After all, it would take a while for the entire school to forgive her, just Ben was trying to get the school to forgive him. He had gotten a head start, and his hero nature helped with that. She would have to suppress every diabolical urge in her body if she wanted to start a new life. "You have good luck with that, Charmcaster." Ben told her. "I'll try and put in a good word for ya." he added, walking out of the kitchen with Spectra behind him. "Where are you two going?" Charmcaster asked.

"Deuce asked for my help on a present for his girlfriend," Ben called over his shoulder. "And Spectra's meeting up with a couple of her relatives! See you later!" he yelled as they both left the old house, closing the door behind them. Charmcaster sighed happily and grabbed the three glasses in the sink, dousing them with cold water before setting them back in the cupboard. It was going to be a long day without anyone home. And she was very lucky that Spectra and Ben had let her stay with them until she could find her own home, if she wanted to. Right now though, she was just fine where she was. And that was the way she liked it.

* * *

"Ben! Where you!?" Deuce rasped into his iCoffin.

"Déjame decir ya algo, Deuce Gorgon, hijo de la temida medusa! Rath está a pocas cuadras de distancia y llegar cuando él consigue allí! Esta cosa es pesado!" a loud, and angry voice came over the small device, forcing Deuce to hold it at arms length just to protect his ear drums. "Um, I didn't quite catch that."

There came a sigh from the device as Skurd took over. "He said, quote on quote, "Let me tell you something Deuce Gorgon, son of the dreaded Medusa, I will get there when he gets there, etc, etc. Oh, and that the thing the ugly brute is carrying on his back is extremely heavy." the Slimebiote translated.

"Cierra la boca, trapo mocos!" Rath yelled from the other end.

"Oh, please. Stop with your empty threats and get moving! This thing of yours isn't going to carry itself!" Skurd chided. There came a low growling from the other end and the the line went dead. Deuce sighed and put the iCoffin back in his pocket before climbing up the grand staircase of the De Nile household. Except 'household' wasn't the correct term for it. Being incredibly wealthy beyond belief, the De Nile's had transformed their home into practically its own country, it was so big. With a fountain the size of three tennis courts put together (complete with hungry Nile Crocodiles), a staircase as big as a Casketball was long, a front door that a To'kustar could fit through with ease, the De Niles greatly put practically every other house in New Salem (Normie or Monster) to shame.

Deuce kept this in mind as he walked up the grand staircase and through the seemingly oversized door. He walked down a long hallway decorated with hieroglyphics that depicted important events in the De Nile's history. Deuce paused at an odd one that seemed to have been crossed (very crudely) with a chisel, leaving gouges in the rock of the picture. From what Deuce could see, it looked like a tall, furry person holding the hands of a much shorter person wrapped in bandages. Next to the crossed out picture was a carving of him and Cleo together, the space after that completely blank. Deuce gulped and continued walking down the hallway, entering the throne room and bowing his head in front of the empty throne (just in case), before talking a left and walking down another long hallway. The low sound of thumping music echoed off the walls, and Deuce was thankful that Cleo's dad was on a long business trip; despite being over 10,000 years old, the pharaoh had never gotten used to the music most ghosts and ghouls were listening to today, especially where Holt was concerned. And of course, being Cleo, she hired the best DJ she could find, which just happened to be Holt.

After much walking, and taking a wrong turn or two (even after all his time with Cleo, he had never managed to figure out the lay out of her house), he eventually found himself in what seemed to an incredibly large living room. A giant flat screen TV, currently turned off, sat on one wall with Holt and his record table stationed in front of it. Monsters of every shape, size, and species were all around the room, dancing to the music and chatting with friends. Directly across from Holt's turn tables was a large throne (possibly taken from the real throne room) among large piles of presents and gifts. A huge picture of Cleo was hung up on the wall above the throne, the Queen Bee herself sitting on said throne and bobbing her head in time to the music as a few late monsters presented her with her presents. Deuce quickly made his way among the piles of stuff and sidled up to Cleo's throne from her left, startling her a bit from his sudden appearance. "And how is the Birthday Ghoul enjoying her party?" he asked her with a smile.

"You're the only boy who can come up to me in my own home and not have to bow," Cleo smiled as she waved another guest off. "You idolize me enough already." she added, pecking him on the cheek.

"Any word on when my gift from you is supposed to get here?" she asked sweetly.

"Yeah, um, about that. The delivery guy won't be here for a few more minutes," he told her, glancing at his watch. A loud _DING-DONG _ that resonated throughout the entire tomb suddenly sounded from the front, Deuce turning towards the sound. "I stand corrected. He should be here now!" he said. Cleo nodded and snapped her fingers, 10 Anubis Guards appearing from out of nowhere and grabbing hold of two strong, golden rods that were attached to her throne. With a sudden heave, the servants hoisted Cleo and her entire throne up into the air and began to march towards the front door, a few of Cleo's close friends trickling after her to see what was so important that the Queen of the Nile herself would go. Deuce quickly rushed ahead, thanking his lucky stars that he was Cleo's boyfriend; had it been anyone else, she might have had their heads cut off.

After a couple minutes of hard running and another wrong turn (he seriously needed to ask Cleo for a map someday) he arrived at the front door to see a large object standing on the driveway, covered by a large tarp. At the base of the object was an odd, crystalline creature a couple feet taller than Deuce. He well defined arms of hard crystal that gleamed in the moonlight and an even sharper jawline. Two blades struck out from his broad back and shoulders, his pointing back towards them as he blinked his green eyes and crossed his cubed arms over his broad chest. He wore a black jumpsuit with a green stripe down the middle as he approached Deuce, taking his hand and giving it a good shake, the Gorgon wincing at the alien's strength.

"Is it done?" Deuce asked him.

"Yep. Took forever to get here, but I eventually did. No thanks to a certain _someone._" Diamondhead added, throwing a glance at Skurd, who sat on his shoulder with his little tentacles crossed over his chest.

"You never asked me to do anything," Skurd huffed. "Honestly, youth today and their manners!"

The Petrosapien was about to throw another shot when he heard someone in a state of power clear her throat. Both men glanced up to see Cleo's Anubis Servants set her throne down gently and bowing as the mummy got up from her throne and walked down the large staircase, guests from the party watching on the landing above. Glancing quickly through them, Diamondhead quickly picked out his friends and ghouls, everyone from Draculaura, Frankie, and Clawdeen (the werewolf still hated his guts) to Spectra, Ghoulia, and Lagoona. Even Jane had taken a break from the air vents and come out to the party, though she was still hiding behind one of the massive pillars on either side of the doorway.

"And what do we have here, gentleman?" Cleo asked in a haughty tone. "I assume that's you, Ben?" she asked, addressing the Petrosapien. He nodded and walked back to the large object as Deuce walked up to his ghoulfriend, taking her hand in his. "At first, I had no idea what to get you for your birthday, Deuce began, Cleo slightly annoyed for a brief second as Deuce continued. "Then I talked to Ben, and he gave me an idea to work with. So if you're going to thank anyone, thank him." he told her, walking her down the rest of the staircase and up to the object covered by the tarp, Diamondhead's fingers curved around it. "I know how much you like shiny things, fashion, and of course, yourself, so I asked Ben to combine all three." said Deuce, throwing a thumbs up to Diamondhead.

With a jerk of his arms and swept motion, the tarp came flying off to reveal the object beneath the canvas. Cleo gasped as a giant statue of her, carved entirely out of gleaming, cyan colored Tatdenite shone in the white moonlight, capturing every image of her beauty, from her long, dark hair to her bright eyes. "I know how much you like rare, shiny things, so I used Taydenite," Diamondhead explained. "It's the rarest mineral in my universe. And seeing as how your universe doesn't have any Tadenite to begin with, you have an entire 50 ft tall statue of you made entirely out of the rarest mineral in two universe!" Cleo screamed with joy at the sound of this and quickly pulled both Deuce and Diamondhead into a bone crushing hug, giving each of them a kiss before running off to admire her statue.

"Your girlfriend just kissed me," Diamondhead blanked.

"Um, yeah?"

"And you don't have the sudden urge to turn me to stone and put me in your Mom's garden?" Diamondhead asked, slightly amazed.

"Nah, man. She kissed you out of pure joy. I can respect that," Deuce told him. "But if I catch _you_ kissing _her_, I will guarantee that you will become the World's Ugliest Lawn Gnome." Diamondhead nodded and turned to watch Cleo hug her statue, kissing it lightly. She had the biggest smile on her face Diamondhead had ever seen, and that couldn't have made her happier. "Do you want me to move it to the backyard or something?" he asked the mummy. "Oh, don't worry about it. It's not that big of a deal." Diamondhead ignored her and walked up to the statue as Cleo walked back to her boyfriend, letting him loop his arms around her and hold her tight. "It's not that big of a problem. It's a Way Big problem!"

For the briefest second, he was changed back into his human self before the alien DNA began to run through his veins and begin the changes. Thick, shaggy fur started to sprout all over his body as he gradually grew taller. His jaw jutted out into an ape like fashion. His lower teeth grew larger, curving up over his lip. Muscles piled on top of each other as his arms and legs swelled. Small bumps on his wrists formed, growing harder and more metallic like. His fingers grew thicker and less delicate looking, better designed for smashing things together and ripping things apart. His feet changed drastically as his big toe moved away from his others until it was at a 45 degree angle. The final change was when a metallic three horned prong suddenly appeared right above his eyes, giving him an angered look, even when he wasn't. The Omnitrix appeared on a thick, green belt around his waist, completing the transformation.

"Or, Shocksquatch." the Gimlinopithecus grumbled.

"Why do you even bother to call them out before you transform?" Skurd asked from his belt.

"I don't know. I've been asking myself that same question, eh?" Shocksquatch wondered. "Let's try this again, eh?" he said, slapping the Omnitrix symbol on his belt and letting the watch do its magic. He was quickly changed back into his human self for the briefest of nanoseconds before a different set of alien blood began to flow through his veins, changing his DNA as his physical appearance was altered. Everything about him began to change in one single way: it got big. It got huge. It got enormous as Ben's frame rocketed upwards towards the sky, dwarfing everyone below him and even making the De Nile tomb look like nothing more than a large dollhouse. His skin turned a pale, metallic white and red, large, thin blades growing out of her wrists and arms, fins sprouting from her waist, wrists, and shoulders. A large, thin red crest rose up from his head, adding to his height. Hard, metal knobs grew out from the corners of his mouth and he could feel a pair of organs forming in his hands, filling up with a sort of corrosive acid. The Omnitrix appeared on his chest, finishing the transformation.

"Now this is Way Big!" the To'kustar cried in triumph, his voice echoing across the grounds and causing the more timid ghosts and ghouls to jump with fright and hide (Jane and Draculaura). With ease, he gently wrapped his giant hand around Cleo's statue, easily picking it up from the ground. He knelt down and set down his hand in front of Cleo and Deuce, gesturing for them to get on with his head. Once the tiny figures crawled onto his ginormous fingers, he slowly lifted his hand up and marched across the grounds, accidentally crushing fancy hedges beneath his gigantic feet as he made his way around to the back of the estate. Once there, Cleo pointed to a bare patch of ground in the center of a beautiful oasis, right in the center of a small island. He gently set the Taydenite statue down at the center of the oasis and then set his other hand down to the ground to allow Cleo and Deuce to walk off. Moments after they did, the Omnitrix timed out, reverting the colossal To'kustar back down to the puny human. Cleo ran over to him and grabbed him into a hug, something she normally didn't do. Ben looked over her shoulder, Deuce giving him a thumbs up. Mission accomplished.

"Where on earth did you get something so big?" Cleo asked Ben, referring to his last transformation.

Ben shrugged. "I dunno. One of the perks of traveling the galaxy is getting to meet new alien species, To'kustars happening to be one of them. I did say the Omnitrix turned me into aliens after all."

"You simply must stay over for the sleepover," Cleo demanded.

"Wait, what?"

"Didn't Deuce tell you? I'm having a sleep over after the festivities with all my ghouls. They're allowed to bring their boyfriends, and seeing as how Spectra's invited, so are you. Besides, I'm sure we'd all love to hear about your adventures across the galaxy." she purred, drawing a finger around his collar bone. Ben gulped and laughed sheepishly as Deuce cocked an eyebrow. Ben frantically waved his hands about, trying tell him he wasn't trying anything, but he wasn't sure if Deuce was getting it or not.

* * *

"Come on, Ben! What happened next?" Draculaura asked excitedly.

"Yes, please continue. I would like to hear how it ended." Jinafire asked.

Ben grinned as he gazed at the eager faces around him. He sat cross legged on Cleo's bed, with the Queen Bee and her boyfriend sitting next to him as he regaled them with a story of one of his many adventures. The rest of the ghouls sat around him on their sleeping bags, sitting with their respective boyfriends; Draculaura with Clawd, Lagoona with Gil, Ghoulia with Slow Mo, and Abbey sitting next to Heath, though trying to ignore him and his fruitless attempts to charm her. Skelita and Spectra sat at the foot of Cleo's bed near Ben as Clawdeen, Jinafire, Jane, Robecca, Frankie, and Gigi sat haphazardly around the room.

"Well, lets see. After I pushed Vilgax into the Codon Stream, he grew into a 100 ft tall giant!" Ben remembered, smiling at the gasps from around the room. "I then turned into Way Big and began punching Vilgax with his own fist! Over and over again, I punched him until I then whirled him around like pizza dough and sent him right back into space! Boom!" Ben finished, socking his own fist into his hand. The ghouls all clapped as the story ended, the guys nodding their heads in agreement, stating that they would have done the same thing had they been in Ben's shoes. "Alright, alright, I think that's enough stories for now. I'll tell you another one in the morning, okay?"

The girls all started to complain, but eventually agreed that it was getting late. One by one, the boys trickled into the guest room and into their separate sleeping bags while the girls got cozy. And just when it seemed all of them would get a good night's sleep, a demon's roar shook the night!

"_**CLEO!"**_

"What in the name of Mr. Smoothies was that!?" Ben yelled, rushing into the girl's room with the guys right behind him. Most of the girls moaned and covered their heads with their pillows or ears as Cleo begrudgingly got up from her bed and walked to the doorway, her hands covering her ears. "What do you want, Nefera!?" she screamed. As Nefera's room was thankfully on the other side of the tomb (a very long way for those of you just joining us), the soulless girl had to yell at the top of her lungs if she wanted her sister and vise versa, not that either one particularly liked being around the other.

"There's a hideous monster watching me outside my window and it won't leave!" was all Cleo's annoying sister would say. Cleo ground her teeth and was about to walk out the doorway when both Deuce and Ben stepped in front of her, blocking the way out. "What are you doing, Deuce?" Cleo asked, folding her arms over her chest.

"Do you really want to have to deal with your sister?" he asked her, knowing full well that the answer was "No." No one in the name of the earth wanted to put up with Nefera's attitude, much less her little sister. Cleo sighed and hugged her boyfriend. "No. I honestly don't get what's wrong with her." she sighed, when an idea came to her. "Ben? Could you do me a favor and take care of Nefera? You are pretty much the only one here who has the ability to do it." she asked, attempting to inflate his ego. Ben rolled his eyes. "As much as I love flattery, I not an egomaniac like your sister." he told her. "I'll do it, but only because I want to sleep as much as everyone else does." he said, pushing past the rest of the guys and walking down the hall. The guys and ghouls all glanced at each other, mixed expressions on their faces of concern, confusion, and enthusiasm.

"Should we stop him?" Draculaura asked.

"I think we'd just be getting in the way, luv." Robecca told her.

* * *

The first thing Nefera noticed after waiting a half hour for her pathetic sister to come to her room was the fact that it wasn't Cleo who was sulking on the edge of her door frame. Instead, a tall, muscled, bandaged figure stood there, his blank green eyes set on her as two long tendrils fluttered in the breeze behind her. He wore a black and green collar around his neck and a matching headdress with his black and gold Shendyt. Black arm braces with thin, green stripes sat on his wrists and ankles as he watched her with a blank stare.

"Well? Are you just going to stand there and be useless or are you going to get rid of the hideous statue outside my window!?" Nefera hissed, assuming that the figure in front of her was some kind of new minion. The bandaged figure silently walked toward her and turned towards the large window that sat on one wall. Instead of leaping out of it to the garden below to destroy the statue, the mysterious figure merely grabbed hold of the silk curtains and pulled them closed, much to Nefera's annoyance.

"What are you doing!?" she growled from her bed, folding her arms over her chest and throwing him a furious glare. The bandaged figure seemed unaffected by the stare down as he responded. "You said to get rid of the statue, my queen-to-be. I simply compromised between both parties and obscured your view of "the hideous statue" outside of your window." he replied, a shocked and angered face crossing Nefera's face.

"You know exactly what I meant, you bandaged freak," she hissed, with venom in her voice. "And what is this "other party" you're talking about?"

"Your dear sister, Cleo, who I must say is much nicer than _you_." said Snare-oh. And before Nefera could react or even scream for her servants (which she had more of than Cleo, thank you very much), the Thep Khufan stretched out the tendrils on his back and quickly wrapped them tightly around her mouth, effectively silencing her. The enraged mummy tugged and pulled at the bandages around her face, her expression of annoyance and anger turning into full blown fury. With one quick movement of her sharp nails, she tore free of her binds! "GUARDS! SEIZE HIM!" she screamed, her angered voice echoing throughout the whole tomb. The sound of thumping feet echoed through the ruin, and within moments Nefera's room was full of spear wielding Anubis Guards, all pointing their weapons at him.

Snare-oh gulped and quickly slapped the Omnitrix symbol on his belt, resisting the urge to squish Skurd, and let the transformation take over as he was briefly transformed back into his human form, new alien DNA coursing through his veins. He felt himself become heavier, and much fatter than before as his gut bulged outwards and his legs became short and weak. His arms only grew a few more muscles on them before they fell limp to his side, still swelling with fat and useless tissue as the transformation continued. His fingers grew into dull claws as his toes become drab. A pair of black brief with a thick chain belt appeared on his sickly green skin as a heavy, cage-like helmet grew out of nothingness, held down by a large amount of chains, hoses, and locks. The most noticeable change however was his face. No one could see it, but Ben could feel it as it began to grow and shrink and swell and deflate in random spots, bony horns and knobs growing out at random intervals as sharp teeth lined his oddly shaped mouth. The final piece of the transformation was the appearance of the Omnitrix on the neck piece of the helmet, Skurd sliding to his station as the green light faded.

"What is that thing?" Nefera scoffed. "Do you honestly believe that-that . . . thing you transformed into is a match for my Anubis Guards?" she laughed wickedly, pointing a finger forward. The Underworld guards edged closer and closer, their unchanging dog-like faces starting to crowd Toepick's vision.

"Get on with it, dear boy! And for the love of all that's good and holy, let me get out of the way first!" Skurd cried as he quickly oozed onto Toepick's head. Once there, Toepick focused his mind, and the piston locks popped loose, releasing a small cloud of gas. The cage doors slid down and then slowly opened on rusty hinges, causing all the guards to pause and gaze.

_Huge _mistake.

In one huge collective motion, the guards all howled with fear, their entire bodies turning white as they dropped their spears and stampeded over each other to get away from Toepick's horrifying face, unable to pull their horrified eyes away as Toepick calmly walked forward. Unholy screams, roars, hisses, and demonic laughter could be heard deep within the helmet's recesses as the Anubis Guards all suddenly exploded into clouds of black ash, settling onto the imported carpet that covered the floor. "NO! What have you done to them, freak! Look at me when I am talking to you!" Nefera ordered.

"If you insist, my queen-to-be." Toepick wheezed. The voice was a warning to all of those who should get too close, a final chance to look away and spare their sanity for the horrors that sat within that helmet like a nest of demons waiting to eat an unfortunate victims soul. Of course, Nefera was too stupid to realize that as Toepick slowly turned toward her. Nefera opened her mouth to yell some more, but instead let out an unholy scream of fright as she gazed upon Toepick's face, unable to look away from the horrors in the helmet as she quickly turned a pale shade of white, even the black streaks in her hair turning white. And then she suddenly fainted, just as the Omnitrix timed out and changed Ben back to normal, much to Skurd's relief. "Don't you think that was a little cruel?" he asked Ben.

Ben shrugged his shoulders and walked over to Nefera's unconscious, white form among the piles of black ash. He gently looped his hands under her back and legs and lifted her off the ground, setting her gently on the bed and covering her with a blanket as she tossed and turned in her sleep, unable to forget the horrors that her eyes had unfortunately met. Ben hesitated as he left the room, unsure of what to do.

He walked back over to her and took her hand, gently rubbing his thumb on her own. Oddly enough, she seemed to calm down at the slightest touch of gentleness. She was still shivering and quaking in her sleep as the nightmares of Toepick's face haunted her dreams. And Ben did something he knew he would never forget or understand why he did it.

He bent over and gently kissed her pale forehead, stroking his fingers through her white hair. The frightened girl stopped shaking and calmed down, the slightest of smiles forming on her lips as Ben walked out of the room and clicked the lights off. "You didn't see nothing, got it?" he whispered to Skurd, who quickly gave him a mock salute. After another twenty minutes of wandering around the tomb and taking a wrong turn (seriously, the De Niles need to map out the place some time), Ben found his way back to Cleo's room, where the ghosts and ghouls were waiting for his return. As soon as he returned, he was swamped with questions from all side.

"Dude, what happened?" Clawd asked

"I demand you give me the details." Cleo ordered.

"I, like, need all the details!" Draculaura cried.

"What was that scream?" Jane asked.

"Was she hurt?" Gil wondered.

The questions continued until Ben jabbed his fingers into his mouth and let out a shrill whistle, silencing them all. "I wouldn't recommend going into her room anytime soon," he began. "She's still pretty shaken up after what I did to her."

"What _did _you do, dude?" Deuce asked.

"I used Toepick on her." said Ben, drawing confused looks from his friends. He then quickly explained what had happened and watched as their faces went from ones of slight amusement to worry, to complete horror. "Trust me when I say I didn't like doing it to her anymore than she wanted it." finished Ben. The others shared frightened and worried glances, though Cleo seemed unconvinced. "Seriously? Why would a creature evolve a face that hideous if it can't even look at itself without suffering the same affect?" she asked. Ben then quickly proceeded to tell her that Nefera's Anubis guards had exploded with fear, and the mummy decided to let the question drop, not wanting to see a demonstration. "Good night." Ben yawned, walking out of Cleo's room and back to the guest room, the guys following. Within moments, everyone was back in their sleeping bags and sleeping, dreaming.

And seemed that every ghoul was dreaming about a certain shape-shifter . . . .

* * *

Spectra was having the time of her life; beating down bad guys and then reporting it was her dream come true. And he had given it to her because he loved her, along with her own Omnitrix! With a twist of the watch face, she opened up the alien roster and began to cycle through her alien listings until she found the one she was looking for. With a slap of the Omnitrix, a bright purple colored light washed over her and began to change her DNA at the molecular level. Her hands swelled to the size of bowling balls as her fingers became hard and black, turning into claws. Her shoulders became broad and rounded as her usual white skin to a light lavender. Her entire frame began to grow bigger and bigger and more rounded as her legs became stumps, black claws forming on the ends of those. Hard, violet colored plating formed on her back and shoulders as black markings appeared on her body as her eyes turned indigo. A purple Omnitrix symbol appeared on her chest and the transformation was complete.

With a quick turn of her body, Cannonbolt rolled into a ball and sped down the highway after the thieves. After robbing almost a hundred banks, the Were-cat Gang were the most wanted monsters in the world, and only she and her husband could stop them. As if on cue, a blue and black blur zipped past her and easily caught up to the get away truck, jabbing a pointed hand into the spinning tires. The tire easily popped, and the truck began driving out of control off of the highway, Cannonbolt just managing to smash her round bulk into the side and prevent it from going over the side and into the river below. For the couple of minutes, she and her husband passed the truck between them until all four tires were popped and the truck crashed into a lamp post. The Were-cats staggered out, dazed, only to be surrounded by the same black and blue blur and quickly tied up with a spare piece of rope.

Cannonbolt unrolled her self and stood up as a Kinceleran zipped over to her with a cocky smile on his face as both Omnitrix's timed out in flashes of green and purple. Spectra gazed up at her husband, who had grown much taller than his 16 year old form. He still had those bright green eyes that she had fallen in love with all those years ago. The two embraced as the police arrived to arrest the petty thieves. "Fantastic work as usual, honey." Ben smiled. Spectra blushed. Even after all their years together, she still turned red whenever she heard that name. It all seemed like a dream, and yet she knew it wasn't. Ben had built her an Omnitrix of her own, using the smartest aliens in his arsenal. He had even managed to wire it up with her unique body structure, allowing her to use the Omnitrix and have a whole body once more (he would have used Alien X, but the Omnitrix was being uncooperative whenever he tried to. And when he _did _get Alien X, it was always during some universal crisis and would always time out before he could give Spectra an actual body. Typical watch). But Spectra didn't care. While she appreciated her husband's efforts, she didn't mind being a ghost. Sure, it made contact with Ben difficult , she wouldn't have changed anything for the world, and they both knew.

With a sudden motion, Ben swept Spectra off her feet and planted a kiss on her violet lips. Spectra, although used to it, was still stunned for a few seconds before deeply returning the kiss, much to the annoyance of the Were-cats as they were shoved into the police car. Spectra was having the time of her life with the love of her life, and she could feel herself smiling and turning red in the real world as the dream continued on . . . .

* * *

In yet another dream, Lagoona eagerly swam beneath the waves, the beauty of the sea never ceasing to amaze her; the rainbow of colors that dyed the corals and grasses as hundreds upon thousands of shimmering fish swam and flitted about. Cute little crabs scurried in the sand on the bottom as fearsome sharks patrolled the waters above. Eels darted in and out of holes chasing after little fish, while crafty octopuses dazzled Lagoona with their amazing camouflage ability. Playful dolphins broke the barrier of both worlds, acting as messengers between the two kingdoms. The water was nice and warm against her scales as she continued swimming. She was soon joined by another sea monster of sorts, his fearsome teeth and eyes hiding his true nature.

Both of them swam upwards and broke the surface, water spraying everywhere as Lagoona shook her head free of the salty water. Ripjaws swam closer, his toothy grin betraying nothing by happiness and love as her wrapped his muscled arms around her and pulled her close. Lagoona could feel herself heat up as they shared body heat, the full moon casting the water into a shining and dazzling light show; a cloud of flying fish broke through the water barrier of the worlds, their crystal wings shining like the stars above. A sudden green flash broke the stillness for a brief moment before it returned, and Lagoona found herself hugging Ben. The two kissed lightly and watched the flying fish glide off into the distance, the water around them broiling and bubbling with warmth as they embraced each other . . . .

* * *

In another dream, Robecca strolled down the sidewalk, with her fiancée's arms around her waist, happy grins on both of their faces. They passed equally happily couples of equal bizarreness; a human and werewolf, a robot and his sea monster children. But none of it seemed out of the ordinary now. Humans, monsters, and robots had managed to settle their differences and finally live together in a peaceful society together. And what a society it was; with the latest advancements in technology (most of which Robecca still couldn't understand or use very well) as well as visits and treaties with alien empires, the world had been transformed into a beautiful, ecological rich metropolis. Of course, Robecca's fiancée had made most of it possible. With the fancy watch on his wrist, he made the alien ambassadors more comfortable on earth with having someone of their own kind to talk to. Eventually, the ambassadors had gotten used to the other people on the planets, and a few of them were even in relationships with them.

Robecca smiled as another jet of steam leaked form her ears and into the air, a robotic pigeon swooping by and sucking it up into its beak. The steam wasn't a pollutant, but the people of earth found it much more relaxing and beautiful when they could actually see the stars and galaxy at night. With all the smoke and harmful gases from the atmosphere safely disposed of (some alien species seemed to actually depend on them, which had created a powerful industry of waste management). Robecca smiled; she, still so old fashioned, was able to still function in the new and advanced world because of her husband, and she pretty much owed everything to him. And he never abused it, treating her as if she were the only thing that mattered to him (other than saving the universe of course). Ben smiled and pulled Robecca towards the lush park and down onto a wooden bench.

The sun was just setting, and the stars were just coming out. Robecca pointed out a few of the constellations to him, and he in turn pointed out the planets he had visited in his many adventures. They sat there for what seemed hours as the fireflies flitted about the night and street lamps clicked on. Ben looped his arms around her and kissed her cheek, not minding that he technically kissing metal instead of skin. In their first few days of their relationship, Robecca had feared that he would dump her eventually when everything they did together didn't feel as good as it did with actual being. But Ben had ignored that problem, pushed it aside as if it were nothing. He didn't care that she wasn't a real person, or that her skin was bronze metal inside of smooth skin. He loved her for what she was inside (not the turning gears and furnace mind you), and that was all that mattered. Robecca felt another jet of steam pop out of her ears and sudden whoosh of wind as a mechanical owl swooped by to collect it. The two eventually walked back to the home they shared and climbed into bed together, sharing a final kiss before she shut down binary functions and Ben fell asleep, both of them holding the others hand as dreams danced in their head . . . .

* * *

The air felt hot and sticky against her bare, violet colored skin, but she loved it everything about it and her surroundings; the colorful butterflies that flitted through the tree tops as bright parrots chirped and squawked to each other. Down below on the forest floor, delicate antelopes tip toed amongst the trees and vegetation, hoping to avoid the watchful gaze of the leopards as the giant elephants wandered about. Monkeys chattered amongst the branches, racing against her as she playfully swung from vine to vine with skill that only matched theirs. She could feel the hot breeze brush against her as she landed on a large branch and sat down, tucking her loose, torn clothes tighter against her body. Moments later, a heavy thump landed next to her, and she turned to gaze up at a certain Appoplexian. The cat smiled at her and pulled her close, just as a loud shot rang out through the jungle. A green flash filled the air as the Omnitrix timed out and turned Rath back into a loin cloth wearing Ben.

"AHHH-AHHHHHHHH-AHHHHHHHHHH!" he cried, pounding his chest and grinning like a goof ball. Jane laughed and grabbed hold of a nearby vine and jumping free from the branch, Ben not to far behind. They swung through the trees with ease, jumping and switching between the vines and branches like monkeys. Eventually, they came to a wide clearing, landing on a tree branch that over looked it. What they saw horrified both of them; A large, mother rhino unconscious in a large cage as one man stood next to it with a gun in hand. Two other men were busily trying to shove a terrified rhino calf into a cage for transport. Jane felt anger rise up into her as she jumped down into the clearing and landed with a low _thump._ All three men to gaze at her, and the rhino calf scampered off into the bush. The men were looking at her with mixed expressions, looks of awe, fear, and lust as they traced their eyes over her barely concealed body. The edged closer, grabbing machetes and guns as they surrounded her. And just when they prepared to attack, a large figure jumped down from the trees and landed behind Jane, a furious frown on his face and Jane grinned mischievously.

The poachers gazed up at the humungous figure behind Jane and instantly turned white as they looked at him. His steely, green eyes glared at them as all four of his muscled arms bulged and flexed with rage, ready to tear them limb from limb with ease. As if given an unseen signal, Jane and Four Arms pounced upon the villains, the Tetramand grabbing the hands of the two that had been wrestling with the baby rhino and cracking them together like a pair of cymbals, knocking both of them. Jane handled the last poacher, kicking his gun out his hands and throwing it to her husband, who crushed it easily between his large fist. Jane then jumped into the air and onto the man's back, planting her feet firmly on his shoulders as she grabbed his hair and yanked back. Hard.

The man screamed and clawed at his scalp, desperate to get the wild girl off of him as she rode on him like a cowboy, refusing to let go as he ran around in circles, eventually running himself into a large tree and knocking himself unconscious, Jane jumping off and landing on the forest floor before he did. Four Arms grabbed the three poachers and tied them up with a coil of rope from one of the crates. Jane meanwhile, crept into the bush, calling softly out to the orphaned rhino calf. The baby animal soon came out of hiding, having hidden in a bed of tall grasses, and pressed himself against her, frightened. "Shh, shh. It's okay. I'm here." she reassured the baby. There the came the shriek of rusty metal on metal and the soft snorting of a large animal before the mother rhino crashed through the brush, pointing her horn at Jane before realizing who she was and drawing it back. The rhino calf happily ran back to its mother and nuzzled her closely as they walked off back into the jungle together. A loud beeping filled the air and Ben reappeared from behind a large bush, playfully tackling Jane to the ground. She laughed and hugged him, feeling his arms touch her bare skin and loop around her back. The two embraced and kissed as the jungle continued on in its steady rhythm and harmony . . . .

* * *

"How are they doing, my husband?" Jinafire asked politely. Her husband, an adult Pyronite yawned and looked up at her from his crossed legged sitting position. At his feet sat a clutch of two, pure white eggs sitting amongst a steady campfire. A bright flash of green light filled the Chinese styled house and Ben reappeared, his thick brown hair pulled back into a ponytail as he stood up. "Fine, as usual. You said that they take almost six months of steady heat to hatch, right?" he asked, taking her hand in his. The dragon nodded and let Ben kiss her on the cheek before walking off elsewhere to the household as Jinafire began her shift. She lay down on her stomach and curled her body around the two eggs, curling her tail around her head to as she shot out a short jet of flame to keep the flames steady.

The two had been married for a couple of years, after Ben had rightfully won her hand in marriage in a battle between another dragon that had claim to her. With the power of his Omnitrix and some basic sword moves, he stood a good chance against the mighty beast and defeated him, honorably calling him a true warrior and bowing low with respect. That was what she admired about her husband; no matter his enemies, great or small, he treated them all the same, with honor and respect (although he couldn't help send out a wise crack or two while doing it). She smiled as she remembered their wedding, a private meeting between her family and his in a beautiful Chinese garden under a large cherry blossom tree. She still couldn't believe a Normie of all people, found her attractive. Though she supposed she was rather beautiful in her humanoid form, most men did not find it attractive when their wife changed into a 30 ft long monster. Ben however, didn't care; he found her fiery spirit and heart of gold to be irresistible. And despite her culture, where women were inferior to men, Ben didn't see it that way and treated her as equal; When she had told them she was pregnant and that she would be laying her eggs in a couple of days, Ben had insisted they come up with an even schedule between the two of them so that she wasn't stuck with all the work. Jinafire breathed another jet of flame onto the eggs and closed her eyes, inhaling the intoxicating smell of smoke and brimstone as Ben walked back into the nursery carrying a tray sushi drenched in soy sauce, her absolute favorite. Ben noticed his wife had fallen asleep and set the tray down in front of her, kissing her on the forehead before leaving her peace, her face growing red and warm as he left . . . .

* * *

Frankie bit her lip as she looked over the many brochures in her hands. There were dozens of Monster and Normie Colleges to choose from and get a diploma from, but there didn't seem to be that many that allowed both Normies _and _Monsters. She was so focused on looking at the brochures as she sat on the park bench, that she didn't notice a figure stalking closer and closer behind her until he had grabbed her in his arms. Frankie yelped and turned to see Ben mischievously smiling at her before she playfully smacked him over the head with the handful of brochures. "Ben! Don't do that to me!" she laughed as her boyfriend sat on the bench next to her. A few years had passed since Monster High, and the two's relationship was still going strong.

"You find one yet, babe?" Ben asked her, setting his arm around her as he looked at the many brochures in her lap. Frankie sighed and set the piece of paper in a messy pile. "Unfortunately, no. None of these colleges will let us be together in one place. One college only excepts Monsters, the other only excepts Normies, and there are only one or two that actually let both in, but both of those are so far away! We'll never get to spend any time with our friends!" Frankie said sadly. Ben sighed; the search for colleges that they could be together at was not going well. Normies were still wary of Monsters and vise versa, though through Ben and Frankie's efforts they had managed to ease the hatred towards each other. "I think it's time you took a break, Frankie." said Ben, grabbing all the brochures in his hand and stealing them from her, keeping them out of her reach as she complained.

"C'mon, Frankie. You've been at this for hours," Ben told her. "Take a break, and then get back to it."

Frankie sighed and nodded; as usual, Ben was right (mostly). The two both deeply cared for each other so much that one could not function without the other. If one of them was not seen or heard from for a couple of days, the other would quickly find them, no matter the cost; Ben would pull Frankie from her work when she needed a break, and Frankie would pull Ben from his games when he hadn't seen day light for days. In a way, the two of them, the slacker/hero and the student/scientist, kept each other in balance. With a laugh, Frankie got up from the bench with Ben, taking his hand as he kissed her and walked down the sidewalk towards town . . . .

* * *

"How do you like them apples!?" Crashhopper hollered from high above the court. It was only a minute before the game would end, and Crashhopper was about to make the basket that would tie the game. As he came soaring back down to earth, he raised the Casketball above his head and slam-dunked it into the hoop on his way down as his team kept the others at bay. With the loud, shrill whistle of the referee and the loud announcement of the scoreboard, the game was tied. Coach Igor blew his whistle, and the Monster High Casketball team came in for a huddle as the Omnitrix timed out.

"We've twenty seconds to win this," Clawd began. "And as usual, Ben is keeping us together better than a mummy's bandages." The boys all nodded Ben smiled. Ever since he had become captain of the Casketball team, keeping Clawd as co-captain for his awesome skills, Monster High had never lost a game. Just when it seemed all was lost, Ben was there with his Omnitrix, ready to make things right with the slap of his wrist. "Ben, we'll try and get the ball to you so you can make the basket. If that doesn't work, pass it to Deuce and help us block." Ben nodded and glanced at Gorgon, who quickly steered his gaze away from him. Ever since Deuce had dumped Cleo or Rochelle Goyle, the two boys found it increasingly awkward to be together during games or classes. Cleo had to resist the urge to both break down and slap Deuce ever since then, but Ben had been there to pick her back up. Said mummy was with her fellow Fearleaders, cheering the team on as the game played. The Casketball team huddle broke, and the boys all took their positions. Cleo watched as Ben activated the Omnitrix and slapped the activation button, turning into Snare-oh. Out of all his transformations, she found the Thep Khufan the most interesting, mostly because it reminded her of herself. Ben however, had helped her become less and less selfish ever since they became a couple, which was infinitely grateful for. The watch wearing hero had done everything to keep her from turning into a miniature version of Nefera, and had even managed to shrink Nefera's ego while doing it to. Cleo's older sister was less annoying and rude than she normally was, actually being kind to Cleo after Ben had had a very long and serious talk with her. Essentially, he was making both of them better ghouls than they were before and bringing them closer as a family.

Cleo couldn't help but smile as she watched her boyfriend steal the Casketball from the other team and dribble it around the court with ease, ducking and dodging the other team members without breaking a sweat. Just as he came to the hoop, two members of the other team jumped into the air, ready to block his shot. Snare-oh quickly jumped and stretched his arms up and over the two monsters and shot it into the basket, scoring another point and winning the game as the scoreboard sounded. The crowd went ballistic as the Casketball team celebrated. Cleo rushed onto the court and practically tackled Snare-oh, hugging him tightly as cameras flashed. The two shared a kiss right then and there in front of all the cameras without a care in the world . . . .

* * *

Draculaura sighed heavenly as she waited by her window. The lights in her bright pink room were out, her father believing her to be asleep in her coffin. Instead, she was waiting by the window in her best outfit, waiting for her boyfriend to come for her. She didn't have to wait long when she heard a small _click _against her window pane. Without hesitation, she thrust open her windows and glanced down with a cherry pink smile. She glanced down to see a large, rounded shell hovering beneath her window sill. "Hope on, princess." Terraspin whispered quietly, continually spinning his flippers to stay above the ground as the wind created buffeted the lawn below steadily. Draculaura nodded and jumped from the window sill, landing quietly on the Geochelone Aerio's shell.

With a quick movement of his fins, Terraspin zoomed off towards New Salem. Draculaura held on tight, hugging her boyfriend's shell as they flew, the cool night air sweeping through her pink and black hair. They flew for a couple minutes before landing on a nearby roof top. Draculaura slid down off the shell and watched as a green flash surrounded the large, turtle-like alien and changed him back into a tall boy with brown hair. Draculaura's pink face turned red as she skipped over to him and hugged him, barely his chest as he looped his arms around her and returned the hug. She cried out in surprise as she pulled up into the air and onto Ben's shoulders. "I want to show you something," he said. Draculaura wrapped her arms around his neck as he walked across the rooftop and lightly jumped the small space between two buildings. They rounded a large air duct and stopped, and what Draculaura saw made her gasp.

Set up on the rooftop was a small table under a pink umbrella with two fancy chairs around it. Draculaura cried out with happiness and jumped down from Ben's shoulders as he smiled. He pulled her chair for her. He then took his own seat as a hired zombie waiter came by with two covered plates. The zombie set them down and uncovered them to reveal two veggie burgers with large salads. Draculaura gasped with surprise as she took a fork and dug into her salad. The food was delicious, and from the satisfied look on Ben's face, he had cooked it himself. She found the gesture incredibly touching, loving the fact that he had been kind enough to make vegetarian options and leave meat out entirely. That was what she loved about her boyfriend, him being so kind and thoughtful. Whenever she was having a bad day, he was there to make it better. Whenever Toralei came around, he was there (as Rath of course) to frighten her off and protect the one he loved.

"The stars are out," Ben commented, sitting back in his chair and glancing upward. Draculaura looked up to, Ben throwing a thumbs up to the zombie waiter. The living corpse quickly pulled out a violin and began to play a serenade as the young, happy couple left their table to sit on the edge of the rooftop to gaze up at the stars, Draculaura resting her head on his shoulder as he pointed out a few constellations to her. Ben then suddenly pecked her on the forehead, causing her to turn an even deeper shade of red. Before Ben knew what happened, Draculaura tackled him back onto the rooftop kissing him furiously. Ben returned her affection with equal madness, the two engaged in an all out make out session under the full moon . . . .

* * *

_Mamá, _I am going out!" Skelita called back to her mother. She quickly walked out the door and down the short walk to the road, her heels clicking as she jogged down the sidewalk. The moon was bright and the stars were out; Skelita thought they were her ancestors smiling down on her, telling her that she was doing the right thing, despite what her parents told her. She ran into town, her marigold and black hair flowing behind her as she held on tightly to her purse. She then came to a cafe and sat down at one of the tables and ordered a cappuccino while patiently waiting. After a couple minutes, she saw him.

A tall, slim figure lurched around the corner of the cafe, his back hunched over as he walked over to her. He wore a tight, see-through suit that covered his whole body. His black skeleton could be seen through the shining green suit, the charred bones held together by black and green striped knee and elbow pads, shoulder guards, and fingerless gloves. His skull was tight and roughly triangular with white, hollow eyes and bottom jaw. He walked over to her and sat down in the chair opposite of her, ordering the same thing as her. "You were not followed?" she asked quietly.

"Relax, babe." Bonez said in a deep, wheezy voice. "You parents won't suspect a thing, not when I'm in alien form." he added, just a green light washed over him and changed him back into his human form. "Okay, _now _they might suspect something." Ben sighed. Skelita smiled and took her boyfriend's hand. Ben smiled, feeling a little better. For some odd reason, Skelita's family had not excepted him when their daughter had brought him home. In fact, her _Papá _had forced Ben to change into Astrodactyl and fly off. She had cried that night, alone up her in room. And then, like magic, he had appeared at her window, taking her on a night she would never forget. What had especially surprised her, was the fact that it was a giant that had met her at the window. With ease, Way Big had shone her a different view of the world, showing her what it was like to be a giant. Everything looked so small from the safety of Way Big's hand, everything looking like toys as they walked about. After an hour of that and doing some star gazing, the To'kustar had returned her back to her house without her parents any wiser. She had rewarded him with a tiny kiss, turning the giant's face red as a tomato.

That memory still lurked in her brain somewhere as they both enjoyed each other's company. And she knew, no matter what her family said or did, there was nothing that could tear them apart . . . .

* * *

"Enjoying the ride, beautiful?" Ben asked Gigi. The genie turned a bright red as the cool night air swept past her, their red and gold colored magic carpet twisting and turning through the endless diamond sky. Over sideways and upside down they flew, Gigi and Ben somehow magically staying on the flying carpet when it did a barrel roll. "It's beautiful." she breathed. She had always been fascinated with the cosmos, hoping against hope that she could someday see the galaxy. And that dream had finally come true, all thanks to Ben.

He took her delicate hand in his pointed towards the stars, the carpet obeying the order and rocketing upwards towards space. Within seconds they broke through the atmosphere and flew through the inky blackness of space, passing the planets of the solar system and eventually leaving it behind. Ben steered the carpet towards another solar system, pointing out the many planets he had visited and explored to Gigi. She could believe she was finally seeing the stars with the one that she loved. "Thank you, Ben." she sighed, resting her head on his shoulder. Ben smiled and held her close as they dodged a shooting star and came to a slowed stop at an odd looking planet seemed entirely composed a shiny, green mineral. Petropia.

There was sudden ripping sound and Gigi felt herself being teared in two. The feeling however, was painless, and as soon as it had come, it was gone. And the most surprising result had occurred; there was a second Gigi sitting directly to Ben's left. The only difference between the two was that they had alternate clothing; while Gigi had black shorts, the other Gigi had blue; when Gigi's top was blue and pink, the others was pink and blue. Another noticeable feature was that she had dark blue hair instead of bright pink hair. This could only mean that it was Gigi's sister, Wisp. She giggled and turned red when Ben smiled and put an arm around her, doing the same to Gigi. The three of them embraced before lying back on the flying carpet in the black void of space. Both Gigi and Wisp simultaneously kissed Ben's cheeks as the solar wind rushed past them . . . .

* * *

If every ghoul was having sweet dreams about Ben Tennyson, only one ghoul was having nightmares _not _featuring him. And like a person breaking the fourth wall, we shall enter said nightmare.

Ghoulia was running. She was running as fast as she possibly could along an endless road that would curve and twist at odd, curved angles. The sky above her was tinted a dark purple color and below her was an endless, evil, dark void. She heard an enraged roar behind her, and she dared a look over her shoulder. She really wished she hadn't.

Behind her were several beasts and monsters of twisted appearance. Among them were her ghoulfriends, though they looked vastly different. Their faces were scarred, leaving pockets of yellowed bone and red flesh. Dagger-like teeth protruded from all of their lips, their fingernails twisted into raw claws that reached for her. Their clawed toes had ripped through their shoes and their dresses and clothes were ragged and torn, and a few of them had horns and spiked tails. They screeched and growled at her, reaching for her with their talons. Behind them flew math books, all of them filled with the wrong answers. The biggest monster however, was none other than Slow Mo. He chased after her with unusual speed and terror, a look of hate in his eyes. He and her friends all began chanting the same thing over and over, and it scared and hurt her to the very core.

"Freak! Freak! Freak! No one likes you! Freak! Freak! Freak!" the ongoing chant continued as Ghoulia continued to run as fast her legs could carry her. No matter how fast she ran though, the monsters were always right behind her, as if they were attached to her by a piece of invisible, short rope. It was then that one of the math books pumped its pages faster, rocketing ahead of Ghoulia fears. The evil book swooped low, causing Ghoulia to duck and stumble a little. The book dove again, and Ghoulia could feel it collide with her face, knocking off her glasses. She didn't stop running, even when the world was blurry and the sound of glass shattering and plastic twisting could be heard behind her. The book seemed more determined than ever, and gave a final attack, slamming its spine into her side and succeeding in knocking her off the endless path!

The fears all stopped chasing her and looked over the edge as she plummeted into the endless void, her friends hissing and cackling as they watched her fall to her doom. Slow Mo gazed her disappearing form with satisfaction in his eyes and toothy grin on his face, a look that Ghoulia would never forget . . . .

* * *

With a loud gasp, Ghoulia shot up in her sleeping bag, breathing heavily as the events of the nightmare came back to haunt her. Were those fears real? Or was it just those extra slices of pizza that she had eaten that were affecting her dreams. Knowing she wouldn't get back to sleep anytime soon, she rubbed her eyes and moaned quietly, picking up her glasses and fitting them over her eyes. She quietly got out of her sleeping bag and dragged into the hall with her, letting it drop to the floor as she went to go find the bathroom. Hopefully a splash of cold water would calm her jittery nerves. Having been friends with Cleo for a long time, Ghoulia skillfully found her way through the labyrinth that was Cleo's home. She eventually found a bathroom and walked in, clicking on the lights and walking over to the gold colored, ruby encrusted sink. Yes, the De Niles even decorated their bathrooms with their wealth.

She turned the sapphire topped handle for the cold water and splashed some of the chilling liquid onto her face. She felt a little better and looked at herself in the mirror, noticing that her pale, gray skin seemed a little lighter than before. Her light blue and white hair was in a mess from the static electricity in her cozy sleeping bag and would actually spark every now and then. She must have been tossing and turning quite a bit. Moaning, she looked down and noticed a small hand mirror hanging from a silver hook on the edge of the sink. Curious for a closer look at herself, she grabbed the hand mirror with one hand and pulled it up to her face, looking at herself a little more. She blinked her eyes quicker than she usually did, thinking she had seen something.

Wait, no, her eyes weren't playing tricks on her! The reflection of herself in the reflector was slowly vanishing in a cloud of dark, purple smoke. Two figures started to appear, and Ghoulia had to squint her eyes to see them clear enough. Eventually the smoke cleared, and she gasped. Two people, a short girl and a tall boy, were sitting next to each other on a bench in a graveyard, surrounded by tombstones and gnarled, leafless trees. The moon was out and was a sharp, silver crescent in the black sky. Twinkling stars blinked overhead as the two held each other close. Ghoulia almost dropped the mirror when the two figures turned so that she could see them: it was herself and Ben. Together.

The two talked to each other, though Ghoulia could not make out any sound. Ben laughed as Mirror Ghoulia smiled and sighed happily when Ben wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. She returned the hug, the two embracing for what seemed forever. Ghoulia quickly turned the hand mirror over so that she could no longer see the reflection in the looking glass. What had just happened? Was it a figment of her imagination? Ghoulia rubbed her temples, putting her oversized brain to work to try and solve the mystery. A commanding, snide voice with hidden warmth came to her mind; Cleo's voice.

_Careful with that, Ghoulia! That mirror's magic and priceless!_ Cleo's voice rang. Ghoulia did indeed now remember Cleo telling her about the mirror. It would first show the viewer what their heart desired most in life, whether it be an item, a moment, or a person. Cleo herself had tried it out a few times, the mirror would sometimes waver in its answer, sometimes showing Deuce and sometimes showing a dress that Cleo had seen at the mall that she had wanted but forgot to bring enough money (despite being incredibly wealthy, the girl was also a bit forgetful). The mirror however, also had a dark side. Once it was done showing the holder what they most desired, the mirror would then show them their worst fears, the holders sometimes being driven to madness, which kind of explained how it ended up in the De Nile house in the first place, as Cleo's father was an antique dealer who had gotten the mirror for almost next to nothing from a crazy ogre who babbled on and on about the mirror was evil.

Old monsters aside, Ghoulia was thoroughly confused. Was being with Ben what she truly desired? She hadn't seen the mirror make them kiss or anything romantic like that, just a time between two good friends. Was that what she wanted? To be close friends with him? Although friends with the ghouls, she was never exceptionally close to them. None of them, except possibly Frankie where Science was concerned, could match her brain power. But then, why was the mirror showing her and Ben together as friends or a couple? She knew for a fact that he was absolutely hopeless at Clawculus if he wasn't Graymatter or Brainstorm, and she was the top student in that class. Maybe, the answer lied beyond her love for school? Maybe, deep down, she was desperately lonely and looking for someone to just pour her heart out to? She knew that while her ghoulfriends were exceptional at helping each other with problems and listening, there were just secrets between them that she couldn't share. Was that what she was looking for in Ben? He didn't seem to care at all whether his friends had fur or fangs, slime or vines, he loved them all equally. Ghoulia sighed and, with a shaky hand, turned the mirror over.

The image of her and Ben was gone, lost in the swirling cloud of purple ash. Another image was starting to appear, and Ghoulia knew exactly what was happening; the mirror was showing her what her heart feared the most. And when the image cleared, she nearly dropped the mirror on the floor for a second time.

The image didn't seem to have changed much from the previous one, with the exception of the appearance of all her friends. She, Ben, and her friends were all still out in the graveyard on the dark night. Mirror Ghoulia smiled at all of them, expecting a return smile or wave from each of them. However, none of those came. Cleo, ever commanding as ever, slowly reached down to the ground, and faster than her mirror counter part could move, Ghoulia's face was covered in mud. The ghouls all cackled and laughed. One by one, they all joined in, scooping up wads of earth and rocks and pelting her with it. Mirror Ghoulia cried out in misery and pain as the globs struck her skin. After one last attack, the ghouls all left her, laughing maniacally. Ben and her boy friends (just boys she was friends with) still remained, and Ghoulia feared of what was to come. The boys, minus Ben, all reached for her and began to slap and punch her, yanking at her hair and clothes without mercy. While no clothing came off, her skin was incredibly bruised and scratched from the attacks as the boys all punched her in the face one last time and moved off after the girls, all laughing as well.

With hope still in her heart, Mirror Ghoulia turned to Ben, gazing up at him with her sad eyes behind her broken glasses. Ben's face never wavered as he slowly brought up his wrist and activated the Omnitrix, Skurd silently oozing aside so his master could do his work. Ben suddenly slapped the activation button, and a brief green light filled the air as the transformation began. Ben's arms became more muscular, his legs stronger and longer. He soon became so ripped that he lost his shirt, it being torn off his body and tossed away. His skin became patchwork, stitches holding random colored flesh together as the Omnitrix symbol appeared on his right pectoral. Metallic bolts sprouted up from his shoulders, wrists, and neck as thick black hair sprouted from his head and down to his chin, stopping. The final transformation was the sudden growth of two large conductor like coils, crackling with electricity. Without a word, Frankenstrike reached for her, his heavy brow arched down into a frown. Mirror Ghoulia moved back in fear, but the Transylian was too faster, grabbing her in his large hands and mercilessly twisting her arms. Ghoulia swore she heard a snap from her arms, despite the mirror being completely mute. Frankenstrike then moved to her legs, breaking them also with a twist of his hands. He then through her, hard, on the ground and proceeded to stomp her frail body into the dust. Ghoulia flinched with every stomp, wondering why her Mirror-self wasn't dead yet. Frankenstrike then drew back a large fist and socked her full in the face, giving one last kick to the ribs before the conductors on his back gave her an electrifying shock. With a loud, hollow laugh, he lumbered off after the boys and ghouls, kicking Ghoulia's head as he walked off. Mirror Ghoulia than broke down into tears, the salty weeping mixing with the blood that had started to drip out from her wounds.

She was alone, in the graveyard without a friend in the world. Not even the crows or bats that flew the night's sky, or savage hell hounds and wolves that stalked the ground came to her, to feast on her broken body. She was worthless, pathetic. She didn't deserve to die, she only deserved to wish she could die, to just lie there eternity in her sorrow and pain. This time, Ghoulia did drop the mirror.

She couldn't stop crying, the images were so vivid. She ran out of the bathroom and ran down the hallway back to Cleo's room, hoping against hope that it was a dream. Once she got there, she glanced and nearly cried out in sorrow. The ghouls, despite being asleep and unaware of Ghoulia's troubles, seemed to be watching her with anger and annoyance in their eyes, wondering why this worthless pest had come to bother them. Ghoulia quickly moved to the guest room where the boy's were sleeping, and got a similar result, every Man-ster seeming to be disgusted by her mere present. Sniffing, she turned to look at Ben, who was the closest to the door. The bright light of the moon that cast through the window shone down on his face, and she saw nothing. Tears still in her eyes, she grabbed the edges of his sleeping bag and pulled it out into the hall as quietly as she could, which proved difficult; despite getting A+ in all her classes, she could never conquer gym unless dodge ball was involved. Once Ben's sleeping form was safely out in the hallway, she quietly closed the doors to both rooms and stooped down to Ben's face. She quickly jabbed a cold finger into the back of his neck and nearly jumped when he shot awake from the pressure point.

"Gah! Where's Vilgax!? Who do I punch!?" he asked wildly, hand hovering above the Omnitrix. Skurd, was no where to be seen, though a tiny snore from the bottom of Ben's sleeping bag gave a hint to his whereabouts. Ben then glared right at Ghoulia, his sleepy face softening when he realized it was her. "Ghoulia?" he yawned. "What's wrong?"

"Eeeeeeee-aaaaahhh," Ghoulia moaned sadly, looking both scared and beyond sad. Ben instantly got parental like and got comfortable in his sleeping bag. "Nightmare, huh? Happened to me once. Turned out to be a Cassiopelan Dream Eater though." he told her. "Seeing as you don't have a freaky face alien stuck to your head, I'm guessing you had a real nightmare, huh?" Ghoulia sadly nodded and hugged her knees, tucking her down so she couldn't look at Ben's face. "Do you want to talk about it?" Ben asked. After a few minutes of waiting, Ghoulia eventually uncurled herself and crawled over to Ben, sitting near him as she explained her nightmare and the mirror's effects.

After a quarter of an hour, Ghoulia was finished, her lip trembling as she looked at Ben with her fearful puppy eyes. Ben sighed heavily and reached for Ghoulia, the zombie girl flinching and then relaxing when it was gentle. "Ghoulia, I'm going to be straight with you: I didn't understand half of what you were saying. What I did understand though, it makes me angry. Angry that you could think such a thing." said Ben with a slightly annoyed tone. "Trust me when I say that none of your ghoulfriends, boy friends, or Slow Mo would ever hurt you. They wouldn't dream of it in a million years, and would refuse the greatest treasures of the world if all they had to do was hurt you and make you feel alone," Ben said, wrapping a comforting arm around Ghoulia's shoulders. "And I will always be there for you, through think and thin. That's what friends do." Ben then pulled Ghoulia into a hug, and she embraced it fondly, a warm feeling entering her as they hugged. After a moment or two, they broke apart, smiles on their faces.

"You gonna be okay?" Ben asked.

"Meeeehhhhhh-ahhhh," Ghoulia groaned, waving her hand a little.

"Would you feel better if I turned into Pesky Dust and set your dreams right?" Ben asked.

Ghoulia nodded and sat back as Ben crawled out of his sleeping bag and stood up, stretching a little before accessing the Omnitrix. He scrolled through the listings before coming across the alien he was looking for and slapping the activation button. A bright green flash of light filled the hallway, and Ghoulia had to close her eyes before looking down at what seemed to be just a little blue fish with two weak looking legs and fins wearing a green brace around its football-shaped body

"Darn it!" Walkatrout cursed before slapping the Omnitrix with a fin.

_**FWOOM!**_

"That's not it, eh!" Shocksquatch grumbled.

_**FWOOM!**_

"Seriously?" Blitzwolfer growled, his ears pinned against his head and his lips drawn back in annoyance showing his sharp teeth as his tail wagged angrily.

_**FWOOM!**_

"This is getting ridiculous!" Way Big complained as quietly as possible. Thankfully, the ceilings of the De Nile house were quite high, enabling Way Big to fit inside if he crouched low.

_**FWOOM!**_

"Okay, that's just _cold_," Big Chill pouted, not even laughing at his own joke. Another flash of green light covered the Necrofriggian, and Ben reappeared, an annoyed look on his face. "Okay, so the Omnitrix is not be cooperative," he sighed, sitting back down next to Ghoulia. "You want me to just sleep with you?" he asked. Ghoulia seemed a little stunned by the wording before she realized what he meant a nodded. Ghoulia then crawled back into her sleeping bag out in the hallway and watched as Ben crawled back into his directly across from her so that they looked at each others faces. "Good?" Ben asked. Ghoulia nodded and took off her glasses, closing her eyes and letting sleep coming to her.

Ben watched over Ghoulia's small form, waiting until he was sure that she was asleep. He then quickly leaned over and pecked her on the forehead, a sort of reassuring god night kiss. As Ben settled back down into his sleeping bag and closed his eyes, he failed to see the smile that curved across Ghoulia's face in her sleep, her dreams much more happy now that Ben was watching over her, and her fears had been destroyed for good.

* * *

Unknown to either of the them, Clawdeen had watched the whole spectacle from Cleo's room after Ghoulia had closed both doors. She peered through a crack between the door frame and door, watching the whole event unfold before her eyes, everything from Ben and Ghoulia hugging, to Ben's attempts at making Ghoulia's dreams all the sweeter. She even caught the moment where Ben lightly kissed her head, promising to watch over her for as long as he lived.

Needless to say, there werewolf was perplexed. Ever since the Halloween Fiasco, she had been wary about Ben. While most ghouls were attracted to him like flies to honey, she was repelled like Draculaura when met with meat. She was disgusted by him and how he had managed to round up almost all her ghoulfriends into a harem. In her eyes, he had every single one of them but her and Venus wrapped around his finger, ready for disposal whenever he pleased. The only reason she wouldn't share these thoughts with Venus was because she could stand only so much of her environmental talk before going insane. She felt angry and alone, left out of something big, especially when all the guys and ghouls had fawned over Ben when he regaled them with his tales of the cosmos.

The only reason she even tolerated Ben for this long was because he disliked Toralei as much as she did and actually had the fire power to do it. As far she was concerned, anyone who didn't like Toralei was alright in her book. So why did she still dislike him? Maybe it was because she was the only one left out of the fun. Ben had never even come near her, and she was sorry to admit that it was her fault. She sighed and rubbed her temples. Life had just gotten more complicated, especially with that werewolf alien form she had just seen moments ago. Her heart was pumping faster than she could run on a full moon, and she had a feeling it had nothing to do with the extra steak she had eaten before bed. With a yawn, she went back to her sleeping bag, deciding to put her weary mind to rest.

Maybe it would all be better in the morning.

**And here is the longest chapter yet! 21 pages typed! Whew!**

**For all you readers out there waiting for an appearance from Blitzwolfer, I hope you're satisfied until the next chapter! Sheesh. Worse than a shoal of piranhas :) And for those of you wondering about Bonez, I based him off of a picture I found on the internet when searching under Atomix. Apparently someone that works for the show or just a fan drew it and posted it online. I gotta say, it actually looks pretty cool. Check it out if you don't quite understand what Bonez looks like. **

**Anyways, leave your reviews and comments below. I expect to see more reviews since this is not only the 13th chapter, but the longest! Obey my command! Mu-ahahahahahah-ahahahahahaha!**

**If you have ideas or requests for this story, please PM so I may appeal to my audience. Again, if your idea doesn't make it into the story, feel free to write your own and let your creative soar (cheesy, huh?). And if you have any ideas for the Ever After High sequel to come much later, PM me as well. I have a basic bare bones idea, and I want to hear what else other people have to say!**

**Hasta Luego!**


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